


For a Good Time, Call | Mashton/Malum

by xdistorted_cliffordx



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, 5SOS - Freeform, Ashton Irwin - Freeform, Bottom Ashton, BoyxBoy, Calum Hood & Ashton Irwin Friendship, Calum Hood & Michael Clifford smut, Calum Hood - Freeform, Daddy Issues, Daddy Michael, Gay, Gay Ashton, Gay Calum, Gay Luke, Gay Michael Clifford, Gay Sex, LGBT, Luke Hemmings - Freeform, M/M, Mashton, Michael Clifford & Ashton Irwin smut, Michael Clifford & Luke Hemmings Friendship, Michael Clifford - Freeform, Michael Clifford Loves Ashton Irwin, Power Bottom Ashton, Prostitution, Riding, Top Michael Clifford, graphic smut, malum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 23:54:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 40,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7552072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xdistorted_cliffordx/pseuds/xdistorted_cliffordx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael was looking for a good time, not a relationship.</p>
<p>----</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heaven's Gates

**Author's Note:**

> This story is in progress on my Wattpad account, but I'm rather active with updating it, so it should be done and all posted up soon! (Wattpad: 1D_HarryStyles_1D)
> 
> \----
> 
> Also, judging by the title, this story contains a lot of smut. Michael tops in both Malum and Mashton. So, if you're not about that, please stop right now! 
> 
> Other than that, enjoy!
> 
> -B

**_Distorted.MGC:_ ** _***ONE IMAGE ATTACHED***_

**_cupcake.caspar_** _:_ oh. um.

 ** _Distorted.MGC_** _:_ what? ;)

 ** _cupcake.caspar_** _:_ is that really you...?

 ** _Distorted.MGC_** _:_ yes. yes it is.

 ** _cupcake.caspar_** _:_ oh....okay.

 ** _Distorted.MGC_** _:_ is there something wrong?

 ** _cupcake.caspar_** _:_ yeah...you're just not...my type. you're not attractive, no offense.

Michael slammed his laptop shut. He was sick of going onto these websites and getting rejected as soon as he sent a picture of himself to one of the people he was talking to. He knew he wasn't that attractive, but he didn't think that he was that ugly either. His ex was pretty hot, so he thought that maybe he was more attractive than what these online assholes were saying?

He broke up with his ex boyfriend Jamison about a year ago and he had been trying to find someone for about six months. At the time, Michael had thought six months was enough to move on, especially since Jamison had moved on from him within a week. It was a terrible breakup and Michael was ready to forget about it. But Cupid thought otherwise because Michael was still single and not even close to finding someone.

He wanted someone to be all lovey with and call his. He was kind of a sucker for that. Michael wanted to feel wanted by someone other than his family and friends. That was the best feeling in the world and he wanted it back.

As he let out a loud groan, he reopened his laptop, debating whether or not to delete his account on the dating site. He weighed out the pros and cons, coming up with more pros of why he should than why he shouldn't. The screen lot up and the chat with Caspar, the boy he had been rejected by, was still up. He rolled his eyes at the rude comment Caspar had left and then moved the mouse over to the settings icon to delete the account.

As the new window loaded, an add popped up at the top of his screen. Normally, Michael didn't pay attention to the ads. But this one got his attention.

Out of curiosity's sake, Michael clicked on the banner and waited for the page to load. When it did, he was greeted with a sexily dressed woman and a shirtless man and the words _Heaven's Gates_ in between them with fancy script. The site looked elegant unlike most dating websites, minus the scantily dressed man and woman, so it intrigued Michael.

He clicked on 'Enter Site' and the page changed to what the website was about.

_Hello there._

_You are either single or looking to have an affair on your spouse or significant other. We specialize in both departments, don't worry._

_Heaven's Gates is one of the most prestigious escort services in the business, except there is a small twist. We do not strictly rent our Angels for sex. You can have them to keep you company, be the date for that important dinner party, or that person that makes someone jealous._

_We also offer a phone line where you can have phone sex or just talk to one of our Angels like a friend._

Michael went onto read about all that they offered about these so called Angels. It actually intrigued Michael. After he finished learning what the site was about, it asked him if he wanted to create an account in order to see the rest of the website.

After Michael quickly signed up, he was brought to the Home page. There was many different tabs he could open. He had found out that there was a tab that was meant just for sex, which he figured he would do just because there wasn't many attractive gay men his type that were on the other tabs.

As he scrolled through the men on the website, he got to thinking that he was looking for someone through an escort service. Maybe he should just play around, fulfill his want for sex while he continued to look for a real relationship. It's not like the escort would be mad since the ones he was looking under were nothing but sex hungry.

Shrugging, Michael shut his laptop again. He didn't know if getting involved with escorts was a good idea or not. Sure, he'd be satisfied in the bedroom and wouldn't have to feel bad about having a one night stand. But they were escorts. They could have diseases. And they were expensive.

\----

"You...wait, explain again?" Luke, Michael's best friend asked, confused as to what Michael was trying to say. "Stop beating around the damn bush and just say it."

"Is an escort service a bad thing?" Michael finally breathed, taking a different approach.

"As in transportation?" Luke asked.

"As in sex," Michael grumbled, rolling his eyes. 

"What? As in, like, prostitutes?" Luke asked. His voice was a little too loud because the older women seated at the table across from them gave them a dirty look.

"Would you lower your voice?! And yes," Michael hissed. 

"Why are you asking me that?" Luke asked. He didn't think that Michael was like that.

"Because I looked at one today. But it isn't like a normal pure sex escort service," Michael explained. 

"It's still an escort service. With prostitutes," he pointed out. "You don't need to do that, Michael."

"They aren't prostitutes. Well, they are, but they don't just do sex like normal escorts do," he tried explaining. 

"Michael, I swear, if you're trying to find a relationship with someone through a sex service, you've taken desperation to a whole new level," Luke told Michael, hoping that his best friend wouldn't follow through with it. 

"I'm not looking for a relationship through it. I may be stupid, but I'm not dumb. I am simply looking for a good time, so I figured that this website's better than those stereotypical escort services with all the drugs and sluts. They said that they don't allow their men and women to use drugs and they're tested for STD's weekly," Michael explained to Luke, only to get a cocked eyebrow from the blonde in return.

"It sounds like no matter what I tell you, you're going to follow through with this," Luke clarified.

"Well, yeah. Probably," Michael said, feeling slightly ashamed for admitting that he was going to be paying for sex. 

"Michael, Michael, Michael. What are we going to do with you?" Luke asked, tapping his fingers on the table.

Luke wasn't going to try and pressure his friend out of it since Michael clearly made up his mind. He wouldn't support him with it, but he wasn't going to judge him for it either. He knew that Michael was wanting a relationship and Luke understood that Michael was sick of having to pleasure himself, which made sense, but Luke knew that an escort wasn't the best idea. There was just so many scares with it. But it was Michael's life and he was going to do what he wanted to do. Luke can't control him.

"It's not that big of a deal. If it makes you feel better, I'll just do the phone sex part of it," Michael told him. 

"Okay, but that's just fucking creepy and pervy," Luke chuckled. 

"Like you've never done it before," Michael snorted.

"Actually, I haven't. My boyfriend is much more classier than creepy ass phone sex," Luke chuckled. 

\----

Michael was sitting alone on his couch, watching the telly as he debated whether or not he should sign up for it. Personally, he didn't see anything wrong with doing it even though Luke told him that it was pervy and creepy. Michael understood where Luke was coming from, but at the same time, Michael was the single one and Luke wasn't. Plus, Michael knew the details of the website, unlike Luke, who was just comparing it to every other escort service that was just used for sex. 

If Michael decided to sign up for it, it wasn't like he'd have to tell anyone. 

With that thought in mind, Michael reached over to the end table, grabbing the already opened laptop. He rubbed his finger on the mouse pad, waking up the bright screen. The site was still up on his desktop, waiting for him to create his account. With a deep breath, Michael hit 'Sign Up' and entered all of his personal information that was needed. 

He chose one of his 'best' selfies that made him look badass yet like a nice guy. He felt rebellious for signing up for it when his best friend specifically told him not to. He looked at his profile, just picturing it being filled with whatever activity would feel his feed. 

Suddenly, a small message popped up and a ding was heard. He looked at the small blue cloud that was in the corner of the screen. It said that he had one new profile view and one new halo (or profile like). He smiled to himself, feeling special. The computer dinged again, saying that he had a new message. He clicked on it, just out of curiosity since this was one of the escorts that would be talking to him. 

Just to dull his somewhat good mood, he expected it to be a girl. But, much to his surprise, it wasn't.

_1 New Message From @silentirwin (m,21,AUS)_

\----


	2. silentirwin

Michael was beyond surprised that he had even gotten a message on the website last night. He didn't even click on it because he was so shocked. He hadn't even viewed the guy's profile because from his icon, he was very attractive. Michael didn't want to give himself a heart attack.

Michael was debating on telling Luke that he had joined the site. He knew that the blonde would be disappointed in him and would most likely lecture him about how dangerous it is. But at the same time, he wanted to talk to somebody about it. It was truly a difficult decision.

After getting his coffee from the barista, Michael went to an empty table in the corner. In his mind, he was preparing what he was going to say to this Silent Irwin character even though he didn't know what the message had even said.

He looked around, feeling as though everyone knew that he was about to go on an escort dating website and that everyone was judging the shit out of him.

_From: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_Hello there...I would love to provide your sexy self with my services. ;)_

Michael felt himself blush, clearly not used to being called sexy or being hit on by a very sexy guy.

_To: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_Well, that depends if your services fill my satisfaction. ;)_

He had sent dirty messages, but he felt different with this one. It wasn't like the others obviously, being he was messaging an escort that was looking to make money instead of a relationship.

Truthfully, Michael didn't expect silentirwin to respond to him. Since he had waited so long to reply, he had expected that the mystery boy found someone else to provide to.

But then his phone dinged.

_From: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_Believe me, I can give a good time. ;) but I do have rules. Interested?_

_To: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_Can we meet somewhere? Not for sex necessarily, but to introduce ourselves and go over these rules?_

After he sent it, he immediately face palmed. He sounded like he wanted to make friends with a man that was basically a prostitute.

_From: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_I mean, I don't normally do that. But whatever you're comfortable with. It can be when I'm off the clock since I'm not doing anything. When and where?_

_To: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_At Starbucks on Weaselton Ave in Sydney at 3 pm tomorrow ?_

_From: silentirwin (m, 21, AUS)_

_That sounds perfect. Here's the guy you'll be looking for. ;) Name's Ashton._

_**silentirwin sent a photo!**_

Michael nearly choked on his coffee when he looked at the picture. The guy was absolutely gorgeous. He still couldn't understand why someone as gorgeous as him would stoop down to someone as...average as Michael.

He was so nervous now that he saw Ashton. He couldn't fuck up and scare the attractive lad off. Michael knew that this was just going to be business for Ashton and he had to keep that in mind. He couldn't afford to develop a useless crush on the boy, just to have his heart broken. It wasn't worth it.

\----

Michael spent the night trying to figure out something for him to wear to meet Ashton tomorrow. He wanted to make sure that he looked sexy and professional so the attractive lad didn't think that he was just a lonely uni-age boy, even if he was.

He even blew off going over to Luke's to play Final Fantasy, which was Michael's life. Luke had wondered why, obviously, but Michael couldn't bring himself to tell him. He wasn't in the mood to be lectured or thoroughly judged for doing what he was doing. Luke just didn't understand that Ashton wasn't paid just to have sex with people. It was like his best friend was blind to thinking that the website was anything but that.

Since the weather was a bit chilly, Michael settled on wearing a Def Leppard shirt, his black coat, black skinny jeans, and his all black Converse. He felt that it looked classy, for him at least. He put his other clothes back into his closet and then took the chosen outfit into the bathroom, hanging the hangers on each other on the back of the door so he could get ready right away in the morning.

Michael looked at the time, seeing it was about 9:30 at night. He felt embarrassed because he had spent at least two hours trying to find something to wear. To be honest, he didn't even take that long finding a tux when he went to prom. That was a sad fact that wouldn't be told to anyone.

Figuring that sleep was the only thing that seemed worth doing, Michael stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his bed. He was going to need to go to sleep early anyways. That way he wouldn't sleep through their meeting time. Michael was nervous. He wanted to be up at least four hours before so he could mentally prepare himself for whatever the fuck he was doing.

God, he sounded worse than a girl.

Michael went over to the light switch, flipping it off, making the room pitch black. He stumbled over to the bed and collapsed into the enveloping comfort of the mattress and wrapped himself into the comforter. Just as he closed his eyes, his phone began buzzing on the bedside table behind him. Michael peeled his eyes open and then groaned as he flopped over onto his back.

He grabbed his phone up and squinted from the brightness of the backlight being up 75% of the way. It was numerous texts from Luke, basically begging him to come over because it wasn't the same playing with Spencer (Luke's boyfriend) as it was with Michael.

Pfft, of course it wasn't the same. Michael _always_ beats Luke's ass when they play.

Michael just responds about how he needs his sleep and that they can do it soon, obviously depending if Michael was going to be going out with Ashton again, but he wasn't about to tell Luke that. Luke would literally take the time to a) send him a three paragraph long text message, explaining to him how stupid he was, b) calling him and doing the same, or c) showing up to his apartment. Honestly, Michael wasn't in the mood for any of those options. He just wanted to sleep.

He would deal with Luke later. Right now, all he could - and wanted to - focus on was Ashton.

\----


	3. My Rulebook

Michael was literally walking with a skip in his step. His "meeting" with Ashton was in about half an hour and he was on his way to the Starbucks. He didn't understand why he was so excited. This wasn't a first date - well, not in the proper terms - and a relationship wasn't about to amount from it. He was meeting this guy because they were going to fuck in the future. This Ashton guy wasn't going to care whether or not Michael looked like a million bucks. Well, if he looked homeless, Ashton could reject him because he would think that Michael wasn't going to pay him. Either way, Ashton wasn't going to give much of a shit about Michael. He was in it for only sex and money. That's what drives escorts to do what they do.

He felt his phone continuously vibrate in his pocket. It had started this afternoon and it was Luke calling and texting him. Michael didn't know what he wanted, but he assumed that it was to hangout with him and Spencer or just him. If he wouldn't be meeting up with an extremely sexy guy, Michael would've considered. But he was going to have to sacrifice being the third wheel today, which he didn't have much of a problem with.

Another reason he wasn't answering Luke was because he would feel guilty and Luke would be able to tell, interrogate him, and then Michael would end up letting it slip. That's when Michael would get scolded and Luke would turn into his second mother. That's what angered Michael about Luke. He took the place of Michael's mother Karen, acting like a know-it-all and bossing the elder boy around. Michael hates it because he got enough of that growing up. He doesn't need it from someone who's nearly a year younger than him. Also, not only that, but just because Luke is in a happy relationship, he thinks that anything Michael does in the dating field is completely stupid. When he signed up on the dating websites, Luke looked down at Michael and told him how he could end up being murdered and acted like it was a felony to even have a profile.

Just because Luke is attractive and able to get any guy he wants, he thinks Michael has the same luxury - which proves not to be the case. Michael has to go out of his way to try and find someone who has a low enough standard in the looks department to go for him and honestly, he was rarely ever successful. It seemed the only people he could score with were perverts that sat behind their computers, desperate for anything, and played videogames for a living. Not that he was describing himself - he had standards unlike them.

He finally got to the Starbucks he was meeting Ashton at and followed an old couple in. Once he was in the doorway, he scanned the place, looking to see if Ashton had decided to arrive early as well, but he didn't see anyone that was as God-like as the escort. Figuring that he'd grab a scone and a coffee to kill time, he got into the short line, looking at the fresh pastries. There wasn't much chat and the smell of coffee was overwhelming but delicious. The smell of coffee always made Michael feel relaxed and comfortable. He didn't know why, but it did.

It was finally Michael's turn and he ordered the apple fritter along with a tall espresso macchiato. The girl behind the counter was having a hard time trying to figure out the cash register and Michael took it as being her first day. He felt for her because he could see her trying to be quick and efficient and trying not to panic.

"Rough day?" Michael asked, offering a small smile to the girl, in which she returned while pressing the screen.

"Try first day," she responded with a frustrated laugh.

"Take your time. I'm not in a big hurry," he said sweetly.

"Thank you, sir," she thanked with a gracious smile.

The line behind him wasn't long, so he occasionally glanced at the door every now and again, just to see if Ashton would casually walk in. It didn't take that long for her to figure out the price and then she bagged up the fritter and asked for his name to write on the cup. He didn't mind how long it took because it killed time for him. He wouldn't have to awkwardly sit by himself and wait for long.

Just before they called his name for his coffee, Michael glanced down at his cracked phone. It was approximately eight minutes until Ashton was supposed to show up. The what-ifs were going through Michael's head like they were on a conveyor belt. In order to try and stop them, he kept thinking to himself that Ashton wasn't going to pass up a chance to get money. He may not be getting any today, but if he wanted future business, he was going to show up. A good business man would anyway.

Michael grabbed his coffee from the girl and took a visible table in the corner that was facing the front door. He sat down, digging out his phone and brought up the Crash of Clans app to waste some more time, glancing up at the door every now and again. The next time Michael looked at the clock, it was five minutes past three.

He tried not to panic. Ashton was coming. Who would turn up a chance to make easy money? Michael certainly wouldn't. He hated the fact that he had these thoughts whenever he was meeting with someone. He hated being the ugly one of the bunch who always had to fear being stood up, even if he was meeting with a _sex escort._ He shouldn't have to worry about someone who is literally meeting him to set up their plan or whatever to _fuck_. For _money._

Just as he repeated that he wasn't stood up, the front door chimed as it opened. Michael's head popped up and the one and only Ashton walked through the front doors, making Michael sigh in relief. The wavy haired boy looked around, trying to find Michael, he supposed. He turned his phone off and waved Ashton over. He spotted him and smirked, walking to the table.

He stuck out his hand before he sat. The boy must naturally smirk. "You must be distorted underscore Clifford? Based on his profile picture, you look like him."

"Yeah, that's me. Hi, Ashton," Michael smiled, looking into the boy's hazel eyes. "I'm Michael. Do you want coffee or anything?"

"Nah, I'm not much of a coffee fanatic," Ashton said as he took a seat opposite Michael. "So, you've invited me here to discuss the rules and such. Mind if I begin?"

"Go ahead," Michael urged, not believing what was happening.

"Alright. So, unlike a lot of the fellow escorts from Heaven's Gates, I have a set amount of rules for my meetings that I expect all of my clients to follow to a T. They're not strenuous, they're just preferences and these preferences are my specialties, so you will certainly get your money's worth," Ashton started, sounding professional. And Luke thought these people didn't know what they were doing. "For starters, I like to be on the bottom. I will swap if my partner is more comfortable being the submissive, but you seem to be a dominant based on your looks. I also am not a fan of any role play and I refuse to do it. The only type of role play I will participate in is calling you daddy. So, before we continue, were you looking for any role play?"

Michael shook his head.

"Good. As the website says, I don't only specialize in sex. If you need me as a date for an event, relationship issues, company, I'm there. I also will do phone sex, but I don't find it to be as effective as meeting. It's also rather creepy, if you ask me," Ashton continued. "So, now that I have told you my rules, are you still willing to take my services?"

"Yeah, definitely," Michael agreed a little too enthusiastically.

Ashton shuffled around, grabbing something from his jacket pocket. He took out a folded bunch of papers and slid them across the table to Michael with a pen. "These are documents that are going to require a signature before I provide you a good time. The top document is any health issues, STIs, and health information. You must fill it out truthfully because if it is not true and I end up with an infection, Heaven's Gates has every right to serve a lawsuit. The second document is the terms and conditions provided by Heaven's Gates, stating that you agree to follow all of the rules that I give you and also the website gives you. The third document is your contact information. All three of these documents must be filled out and are required. If you have a problem with any of these, I'm afraid that I will not be able to provide you my service until you express your concerns with the CEO of Heaven's Gates."

Michael unfolded the papers and began filling out the forms, happy that he was able to do this, but still in disbelief that he was actually following through with it. Once he was finished with the forms, he folded them back up and slid them back to Ashton. The boy was now comfortably sitting in the chair, making it actually look luxurious to sit in when it wasn't.

"Well, now that we're finished with all of the legal shit," Ashton smirked. "when will you experience my services?"

"I'm open anytime," Michael said, not being able to help but smirk.

"Was that pun intended, Mr. Clifford?" Ashton smirked seductively.

He had a feeling Ashton was going to satisfy him. If only he knew that it was in more ways than one.

\----


	4. First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's going to be some good ol' smut in this chapter.

Michael sat in his bed, his mind racing as he thought about what events were about to come in just a few hours. He didn't know what to think - more like he didn't know what he was doing. He was starting to have second thoughts about this whole Heaven's Gates thing and Ashton and just everything to do with his love life. Maybe he was meant to die a virgin and alone. Considering that he was terrified out of his mind about having sex, he was perfectly fine with that.

He didn't know if he should decorate the room romantically or just spend the day not worrying about it and acting chill about the situation. It wasn't like Ashton was his boyfriend, so he wasn't about to care if Michael made it romantic or not. The bottom line was that Ashton was getting paid. He wanted to call Luke and ask, but he knew that wouldn't go over well because, well, Luke didn't know about the whole escort thing. He decided that he should just clean the house first before worrying about the extra details. He didn't want this to feel like it was just a hookup, but he didn't want to go over the top romantic. The struggle was real.

He looked around at his apartment, trying to find where to start. Michael thought he was a rather clean person, but it turned out that he wasn't. His apartment was an absolute shit hole.

\----

Michael checked himself out in the mirror, trying to figure out whether or not he should wear his silky black robe he got as a white elephant gift for his birthday one year. He thought that it added a sexy twist, being he would be shirtless and only have a pair of boxers on. He wasn't particularly comfortable with his own body, so greeting Ashton at the door would make him completely vulnerable.

There was a knock on his door and at the last minute, Michael decided on wearing the robe. He looked in the mirror once more to make sure his hair was good and then ran to the front door. When he opened it, Ashton was standing there with a brown leather jacket, skinny jeans, a nice haircut, and a teasing smirk on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Clifford," Ashton greeted.

"Hello, Ashton. Welcome to my humble abode," Michael greeted, letting the escort into his apartment.

"Where are we doing our work, sir?" Ashton asked, turning around.

"In the bedroom. Just down the hall," Michael instructed.

Ashton led the way to the bedroom and Michael couldn't help but check out the boy's ass as he followed. They had decided in Ashton calling Michael 'daddy' and 'sir', which actually made Michael feel a little like authority and in control. Technically, he was since he was topping.

Once the two were in the bedroom, Michael shut the door. Ashton stood patiently, waiting for directions to be given. But the only direction that Michael was going to be giving was attacking the boy's lips like he had wanted to since he first met him. Michael went towards the shorter lad, grabbing his face and smashing their lips together, making it one of the best kisses Michael had ever had.

Michael ended up pushing Ashton back onto the bed and hovering over the top of the boy, his dick becoming harder with each sloppy open-mouthed kiss shared. The boy started ripping off Ashton's top layers, the submissive becoming shirtless and hard in no time. Michael didn't know what he was supposed to do, but he saw enough porn to figure it out, so he started kissing down the boy's abdomen, Ashton letting out small purrs.

"Want me to suck you off, sir?" Ashton panted as Michael got closer to Ashton's 'V' line.

Michael stood up and pushed his robe back and waited for Ashton to get positioned. Ashton pulled Michael's boxers down, the colder air hitting his hard-on and sending chills up his spine. Ashton's plump and beautiful lips wrapped around Michael's tip and slowly made their way down Michael's shaft, the boy letting out a throaty moan at the intense pleasure. Ashton started sucking slowly, swirling his tongue around Michael's member as he bobbed his head. But then as Michael kept moaning, Ashton started to go faster and faster. Michael tried not to fuck the boy's mouth, but there was moments where he couldn't help but thrust forward. Ashton's mouth was magical.

Michael felt himself about to cum, but knew that he wanted to wait until he was inside of Ashton. He out his hands in the escort's hair, pushing him back and Ashton finished with a pop. Michael looked down at the lad and gestured for him to get back onto the bed.

"Was I a good boy, daddy?" Ashton asked, laying back on the bed as Michael began kissing down the man's barely-there abs.

"You were a very good boy. You're going to continue to be a good boy when I fuck you, right?" Michael asked, feeling desperate to fill Ashton's tight ass.

"Yes, daddy."

Michael pulled off Ashton's undergarments, his hard-on springing up to hit Ashton's stomach. He spread his legs wide and then Michael turned around, grabbing the lube from his dresser. He squirted some on his hand and slicked up his fingers, putting one digit into Ashton's hole. Ashton began to let out small pants, his eyes shutting slightly as Michael's finger went back and forth. When he felt that Ashton was ready, he inserted another finger, going faster and faster, curling the two fingers, which made Ashton moan louder. Wanting to put his dick in him, Michael quickly added a third finger and fingered him as fast as he could.

"'M ready, daddy."

Without hesitation, Michael lined his thick shaft up with Ashton's entrance, slowly pressing in. Ashton cried out in pain that turned into a pleasures moan. Michael waited a minute before slowly thrusting in and out of him. He pulled almost all the way out, only to slam back in and cause a moan from Ashton.  
  
"You want daddy to go faster?"

Ashton nodded frantically and Michael picked up his pace, moaning himself. Their skin slapped together, making Michael even more turned on as he continued to pound Ashton. The bed frame started to squeak as Michael continuously banged his dick into Ashton, the two moaning loudly as the slowly reached their climaxes. Michael felt a warm, tightening feeling in his abdomen. Before he knew it, he was cumming hard into Ashton and moaning out as loud as he could.

He continued to pump into Ashton, grabbing the submissive's hardened dick and began pumping it in time with his thrusts. The boy mumbled out curse words and Michael's name and then let out a long and harmonizing groan when he came into Michael's hand.

Michael collapsed onto Ashton, his dick still inside of the smaller boy. The two panted, satisfied with their first sexcapade.

"You were a _very_ good boy for daddy."

\----


	5. Keeping Secrets

Michael agreed to meet Luke and Spencer at a restaurant since he had blown him off so much in the past few days. Overall, he was actually excited to see them, but at the same time, he wasn't. Whenever Michael hung out with the couple, he was always a third wheel. He wasn't going to complain to Luke because they were a cute couple and all Michael had wanted for his best friend was for him to be happy and he wasn't going to be that hypocrite friend and ruin it. He actually sometimes liked being the third wheel because he could secretly fangirl over the two of them.

Luke had also mentioned to Michael that he better be ready to explain what was so much more important than hanging out and playing video games. Michael didn't know if was ready to tell Luke the real reason. He didn't want to face the judgmental stares from both him and Spencer. But he also didn't want to lie to him. So that left him with only one choice. 

Tell Luke that he had been seeing Ashton.

It wasn't a complete lie. Sure, Ashton and Michael weren't technically dating, but they were _seeing_ each other. Granted, it was for different reasons than a normal couple, but Luke didn't need to know those details. And it was also in Ashton's job description to pretend to be Michael's boyfriend if needed. It would hopefully work and Luke wouldn't suspect that Ashton was an escort. It also sort of helped that Luke was oblivious to things as well. 

Michael grabbed his wallet and phone and headed out the door to start his walk to the restaurant that he was meeting Luke and Spencer. He was feeling a little guilt about not telling the entire truth to Luke, but it wasn't as much as it would've been if he were to completely lie to him. Michael wasn't a liar and he wasn't about to become one. 

The walk to the restaurant was thankfully short. It was rather windy out and that added a bit of bite to the air, making it colder than Michael had originally thought it was. He was never good at playing weather man unless the change in meteorology was noticeable from his living room couch. When he walked into the restaurant, a young woman that was all of about nineteen years old and dressed professionally with more makeup on than a drag queen greeted him. He said that he was joining Luke and she handed him a menu along with a flirty smile before pointing him towards his destination. 

"I'll be right over to your table, sir," she said with a wink. 

Michael did whatever he could not to bust out laughing. Luke noticed him and started to wave him over to their table. Spencer looked up from his menu and smiled weakly at Michael, which made Michael feel like he was interrupting something. He never once felt that way about being with Luke and Spencer. They always seemed to be happy to have Michael tagging along. But he wasn't going to think too much into it. Spencer was a good guy and Michael considered him to be a friend, so it was probably nothing. 

"Mikey, you're alive!" Luke squealed when Michael sat down in the booth across from the couple. 

"That I am. Don't know how you could've assumed I was dead since I responded to every one of your billion text messages," Michael laughed. 

"It's not like you to blow off Final Fantasy. Even Spencer was concerned," Luke pointed out.

"I was. Never known a hardcore gamer to pass up a chance at winning," Spencer smirked.

Luke gave Spencer a smack on the arm. "You're suppose to be on my side!"

"I would be, but tell me, babe, how many times have you beaten Michael at any video game?" Spencer asked. 

Luke was quiet, his cheeks blushing in embarrassment. "There was that one time when we were thirteen and I beat him at Mario Kart..."

"Wrong. I was ordering pizza and you cheated. My mum is witness," Michael pointed out. 

"I didn't invite you people here to embarrass me," Luke said, narrowing his eyes. "I thought you guys loved me."

"We do. We just like to harass you a little bit," Spencer smiled, pulling Luke into an awkward side hug, making Luke look smol when he was actually a tall and gangly giraffe.

"Love is consistent teasing, Lucas. You should know that by now," Michael chuckled giving Luke a little nudge with his leg. 

Before the conversation could continue on any further, the flirtatious waitress came over with a cheesy smirk on her face. Michael and Luke just exchanged glances, both knowing what the other was thinking. She stopped in front of their table. "Welcome to Padre's. What can I get you to drink?" 

"I'll ta-" Spencer started but was cut off by the waitress - who was named Lea. 

"Were starting in the back, sir," she snapped and looked at Luke, pouting her lips out. "Sir, what can I get for you?" 

"I'll have a tall glass of gay and some water," Luke said with a smirk, making Lea look at him with disappointment as her eyes wandered to Michael in hopes. 

"I'll have a Shirley Temple and a pregnancy test," he joked. "Got a take precautions for the bun in my oven."

The amount of disappointment and annoyance on Lea's face made the three boys crack up. "I take my job very seriously and I don't appreciate you making jokes."

She turned to walk away when Spencer stopped her. "Excuse me, but the ugly one would like something to drink."

"What do you want, sir?" she hissed with a fake smile plastered on her makeup covered face. 

"Make that two glasses of gay and a Coke," Spencer said, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Why don't you also get yourself a cup of calm the fuck down?" Michael laughed. 

"You are the rudest customers that have ever walked in here. I'll make sure to spit in your food," Lea spat angrily. 

The three watched the bitchy waitress walk away, swinging her hips more than Beyonce. Instead of being straight and getting turned on, they just laughed at what they had just done. Luke and Michael used to always mess with the waiters/waitresses at restaurants when they were in school, so it was like a blast from the past and Michael didn't realize how much he missed those days until that moment. He used to feel bad for them, but this woman didn't deserve sympathy. She just gave Michael bad vibes. 

"So, are you going to tell us where you've been and why you were MIA?" Spencer asked. 

"It's been eighty-four years," Luke said, mocking the old woman in Titanic. 

"You'd be dead, Luke," Michael chuckled. "Anyway, I was...busy."

"Were you really? I've never known Michael Clifford to be busy other than laying on his couch and playing video games or watching porn or stalking people on social media," Luke pointed out. "Please tell me that isn't what you were busy with."

"No, actually. It wasn't. I went outside," Michael started.

He didn't know how to start a conversation like this. He had never had to before and technically, it wasn't even a relationship. There wasn't much for him to go off of, so he was just going to have to wing it. The only example that he had to go off of was when Luke told him about Spencer, but unlike Michael, Luke had Spencer with him to introduce the two. Ashton was off doing his escort work or whatever it was that Ashton liked to do. 

"Well, what did you do outside?" Luke pressed, anxious to know. 

"I met someone..." Michael trailed, earning two sets of wide eyes on him.

"Really?! Who?! Tell me! Please tell me that it wasn't through that escort thing that you were telling me about a few days ago," Luke begged, holding back excitement.

Michael almost choked, but held himself together. "No, I didn't sign up for that. It was stupid. Anyway, I met him at Starbucks a few days ago."

"Well, does Starbucks boy have a name or is he to be known as Starbucks?" Luke asked, now more excited. "And I'm glad you didn't sign up for that. You wouldn't have met this fellow otherwise."

 _Actually...I wouldn't have met him if I wouldn't have signed up,_ Michael thought. But he wasn't about to tell Luke that. He would be kicked in the area that he needed to please Ashton with. So, he instead smiled. "His name is Ashton."

"Ashton? That's a lovely name. Do you have a picture of him or do we have to be surprised?" his blonde best friend continued.

"Some things have to be secret," Michael smirked. 

"When do we get to meet him?" Spencer asked. 

"Oh! We can invite him to my mum's gala party or whatever the hell it is! Do you know if he owns a suit?" Luke asked, more excited than Michael was. 

"I'm sure he owns something nice. I'll let him know. Friday, right?" Michael asked, gulping. He hated lying to Luke. He wasn't technically lying to him, but it still hurt him more than he thought that it would. 

"Yes! I'm so excited to see the man that stole my Mikey's heart!" Luke squealed in excitement.

Michael didn't know what he had just gotten himself into, but he knew that he would eventually regret it. 

\----


	6. Be My (Fake) Boyfriend?

It was Thursday night, the day before Michael was supposed to bring Ashton to meet Spencer and Luke. Michael hadn't even mentioned it to him yet because he didn't want to sound like he was a desperate loser. He knew that Ashton would get paid for it anyway, but the fact of the matter was if Ashton would think of him as pathetic. He really liked Ashton as a person and already felt pathetic for having signed up for Heaven's Gates.

It was late, but he knew that Ashton would still be awake. The guy was kind of a night owl. Michael grabbed his laptop from the night stand and went to Heaven's Gates to start a chat with Ashton. He really needed to get his number for situations such as this.

_To: silentirwin_   
_Are you available tomorrow night?_

_From: silentirwin_   
_Yes. Another meeting? ;)_

Michael couldn't help but smirk at Ashton's message. He would love if the night ended in them having sex together, but he didn't think that Ashton would voluntarily do that without pay. Fucking Luke with his gala party.

_To: silentirwin_   
_Where are you?_

_From: silentirwin_   
_I can be at your apartment in 5._

Michael figured that it was easier to tell him about it instead of over a direct message. That way he wouldn't miss any details or the message wouldn't be the length of a Harry Potter novel. He got up from bed and went into the bathroom to make himself at least a little sexy for Ashton. He didn't want him seeing him as a lazy and ugly pig. He wanted to look desirable for the guy, even if he did pay him for sex.

Instead of staying in his bedroom to watch Netflix on his laptop, he went out to the couch and watched it on his TV so he was closer to the door. It had been a while since Michael had binged on a series, so he decided that moment would be the right time. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. He scrolled through Netflix, trying to find something that looked somewhat interesting. He ended up choosing Making A Murderer to see what all the hype about it was.

Just as Michael started getting into the episode, there was a knock on his door. Mentally, he cursed Ashton for coming, but then regretted it because he actually liked to see Ashton. Michael paused the show and got up from the couch, roughing his hair up a bit and straightened his tight fitting wife beater. He thought he looked like a sex God in his wife beater and pizza pajama pants.

When he opened the door, he was greeted with a tired looking Ashton sipping out of a straw, wearing a light jacket over what looked to be a onesie. Michael wouldn't judge. He actually looked smol and adorable and cozy. So much so, Michael just wanted to cuddle with him.

"Since when did five minutes turn into fifteen?" Michael smirked.

"I couldn't pass up the flavor of the day at Marco's," Ashton told him with a smile. "It was Oreo Explosion with brownie pieces in. For an Oreo enthusiast such as myself, passing that up would be like committing murder. It's a no-no."

Michael laughed, finding Ashton to be adorable when he was tired and off duty. "Come in."

Ashton followed Michael in, collapsing in the recliner as he continued to sip his large Oreo Explosion shake. And he was definitely wearing a music note onesie. Michael took a seat on the couch, turning the television off so neither of them would get distracted by it.

"What did you need me for at this hour? If it's a booty call, I'm doubling the price," he joked.

"No, I actually had to talk to you about tomorrow night. My best friend Luke invited me to his gala party...and I kind of told him that we were together..." Michael said bluntly, earning a pair of shocked and confused eyes.

"Why did you tell him that?" Ashton wondered, his tone sounding disbelieved. "Michael, I thought you understood that this wasn't going anywhere. Heaven's Gates isn't a dating service...it's an escort service. I can't see you anymore if that's the case."

"I know that you're only an escort service. But I had to come up with an excuse as to why I continued blowing him off and he kept bugging me about bringing a date and having a boyfriend, so I just blurted your name out. You're supposed to be my date for that kind of stuff, aren't you? I'll pay you, Ashton. Please? It's nothing more than business," Michael pleaded.

Ashton was quiet for a second and then looked up at Michael. "Fine. I'll be your fake boyfriend. But there are some regulations I have to go over for this before anything. Do you have a piece of paper?"

Michael nodded, getting up and going to his little den and grabbing a piece of loose leaf notebook paper. He grabbed one of his pens and brought it out to Ashton. He sat back down and watched as the wavy haired boy started writing. After a few minutes, he looked up at Michael awkwardly.

"You can watch the telly if you want. This might take me a little bit."

Michael did as told, turning his TV back on and pressing play on the show again. He continued to get absorbed in the television show, understanding why people were so obsessed with it. He nearly forgot that Ashton was in his apartment until the kid got his attention.

"Pause it," he demanded. Michael did as told and Ashton then slid the piece of paper across the coffee table towards him. "You have to read it and then sign at the bottom. It's not as official as the papers at work, but it's pretty close and it's just proof."

_ Fake Boyfriend Rules/Regulations: _   
_1\. Escort must get paid the rates they ask for. ($50)_   
_2\. Escort must be informed of how far in the relationship they are in and what colleagues/friends/peers know of them and how much they know about them._   
_3\. Escort must be told ALL activities of date. If not, the escort and Heaven's Gates has every right to file a lawsuit._   
_4\. If PDA is needed, escort must be willing and not forced. The costumer also must understand that this is a no strings attached deal. Costumer and escort must not pursue romantic relations while costumer or escort are still enrolled with Heaven's Gates._

Michael read over Ashton's scrawl a few more times, making sure that he understood everything. Ashton was playing his phone, not even paying attention to Michael. In a way, it hurt him knowing that he couldn't have an interest in Ashton. Not that he did anyway. Ashton wouldn't go for someone like him anyway.

Ashton and Michael were strictly business. Nothing more.

\----


	7. The Happy Couple

Michael absolutely hated suits. Anything that wasn't casual dress, he wanted to throw into the fiery pits of Hell to burn. He hated how tight they were, how he looked in them, how stiff they were. He looked like a dork when he wore them because he never particularly wanted to flatten his hair because he would look even dumber. That's how he ended up with a looser fitting suit jacket with a partially unbuttoned dress shirt underneath and his skinny jeans. He may be going to a fancy gala, but there was no way he was going to show up looking like he was plucked straight from the lineup of men from The Bachelor.

His bed was full of his various suits and dress shirts that his mum had bought him throughout the years. He didn't understand why he had so many still. There was never a time that he wore them, no matter the occasion. The fact was that Michael Clifford just looked terrible in a suit and he was going to go to all costs to wear something but - just like tonight. As he was making sure that his already styled blonde hair was still in tact and perfect, there was a knock on the door. 

Michael hurried out, swinging the door open with a smile on his face that was soon replaced by a jaw drop as he looked at his fake boyfriend for the night. "Holy shit."

"Hello to you too," Ashton said, stepping into the apartment. 

"You look good, Ash. How do you afford these clothes?" Michael asked, not being able to help but look at Ashton's ass.

"Escorting pays well," he turned around smirking. 

Now Michael felt that he was under dressed compared to the suit that Ashton was wearing. It fit him so perfectly - like it was made for him. He was wearing a suit jacket with black studs on both the shoulders and the cuffs over a red and black checkerboard tight-fitting shirt. As Michael continued to look at the well dressed man, he did notice that he was too wearing skinny jeans paired with dress shoes, so Michael didn't feel as bad. But when Ashton's hair was fluffed and blow dried to perfection and Michael's was just gelled into his normal style. 

"I'm going to take out the trash now," Michael said, walking towards the door. 

"Please, Michael. You are not trash. Let me help you pick something. I can assure you that what you're wearing doesn't even look like something you would wear," Ashton suggested, going down the hallway towards Michael's bedroom. 

He let Ashton dig through his closet until he found something to his liking while also thoroughly judging Michael on his endless amount of band shirts and then also Pokemon shirts. There was also the silent judgement of the array of suits, but Ashton didn't say anything about it; he had just given them an odd look and went on with picking out something presentable for Michael to wear to a gala without looking like he was uncomfortable and forced to be there, even though, he technically was because of Luke. 

After a few minutes of digging, Ashton pulled a few things out, only to throw them softly at the awaiting Michael. The blonde looked down at them, figuring that the outfit wasn't really gala appropriate, but neither was he. 

"I want you to try that on and then come and show me," Ashton instructed. 

Michael did what Ashton said, going into the bathroom and stripping down. He threw on what Ashton had picked out for him, smirking at the fact that he could still wear his skinny jeans. It was just his shirt and jacket that needed the changing. Once everything was on and Michael was comfortable, he looked in his bathroom mirror, very satisfied with the outcome. The red flannel and leather jacket that replaced what he had originally had was the best idea that anyone had ever come up with. Michael was actually jealous that Ashton thought of it and not him. Picking up his other clothes from their piles on the floor, Michael opened the bathroom door and went back out to the bedroom where Ashton was hanging up the endless amount of suits.

Once the escort noticed Michael, a smirk automatically formed on his face. "Well, what do you think?"

"I look fucking good," Michael told him, looking down at his new outfit. 

"There is just one more thing that I don't like though," Ashton told him. "Off with the shoes."

Michael didn't question it and took off his dress shoes, wondering what on earth Ashton was going to grab out of his closet for him. All of his shoes were Converse and Vans that were not made to go to fancy parties - kind of like their owner. But when Ashton reappeared, he was walking over to Michael with a pair of brown lace up boots. Michael didn't even remember buying those. Though without argument, Michael bent down and put on the pair of boots, lacing them to his liking. When he had both on, he looked to Ashton for his opinion. 

Ashton was standing with his hands folded so his index fingers were touching his smiling lips. "I love it. You are the most well-dressed fake boyfriend I have ever had."

"Thank you. I could say the same," Michael laughed. 

"And very good looking," Ashton said with a smile, looking up at Michael, their eyes meeting.

"Nah, you're the looks in this fake relationship. All I have going for me are these killer clothes," Michael told him, starting to feel uncomfortable. He liked when he was complimented, but he didn't know how to take a compliment without degrading it and saying that it wasn't true.

"You are great looking, Michael. I've had a few fake boyfriends in my time and none of them compare to you. Hell, they didn't even let me change their horrendous outfits," Ashton told him softly, walking towards him.

"So my outfit was horrendous?" Michael joked, wanting to change the subject because he didn't know what was about to happen. 

"It was very horrendous because it wasn't you," Ashton said, his face now centimeters from Michael's. 

Michael swallowed his nerves, looking into Ashton's irresistible hazel eyes. He didn't know what to do or what move to make because he was so mesmerized by his fake boyfriend's irises. If he had any say in it, they would completely skip Mrs. Hemmings' gala and fuck the life out of each other for the rest of the night. But he knew that he promised Luke and Spencer that they would meet Ashton, so sex before was not an option because Michael was definitely not in the mood for a quickie. But the aching that was beginning to occur in Michael's pants was thinking otherwise. A quick snog couldn't hurt, could it?

Michael smashed his mouth against Ashton's, who complied immediately. The two fell back onto Michael's bed, not breaking contact as the continued to stick their tongues down each other's throats. The two were moaning greatly every time they accidentally brushed against one another's hard members, reminding them how badly they wanted to relieve it. 

"Call this number after the party," Ashton panted, shoving a business card in Michael's face. Leave it to Ashton to interrupt their heated make out with a fucking business card.

Michael grabbed it, reading it carefully. There wasn't a name on it: just a winking face and a phone number. It was sketchy but considering that Ashton gave it to him, he knew that it couldn't be too bad. Ashton would never deliberately put Michael in harm's way. 

"You'll have a good time, trust me," Ashton said with a seductive wink as he slid out from underneath Michael. 

Michael wasn't going to press anymore on the matter and just got up from the bed, walking out to the kitchen with an awkward waddle due to his semi-hard dick. Ashton was there waiting, texting on his phone. He didn't know why, but Michael felt a wash of jealousy fall over him as he watched Ashton text, thinking that it was probably to a client for later on after Ashton was all done with him. He didn't feel anything towards Ashton other than an escort-client relationship. It was outlawed anyway, so it wasn't worth getting his heart broken over. 

"Ready to go?" Michael asked him. 

Ashton looked up from his device, shoving it into his suit pocket. He looked down at Michael's nether regions and rose his eyebrow. "Aren't you going to take care of that before you go?"

"It'll go down. But if you want to..." Michael suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

"Michael, we have a party to get to. No time for blowies," Ashton said with a smirk and a wink. "Just think of your grandmother's vagina and you'll be good in no time."

"You're fucked up, Irwin," Michael cringed, the horrific image entering his mind.

"I believe that we should go so we're not fashionably late," Ashton said, not acknowledging the last comment. 

\----

Michael and Ashton showed up to Liz Hemmings' business building just ten minutes after the party had started. The only reason they were "fashionably late" was because Michael had to explain to Ashton what Luke and Spencer knew about him and their "relationship". It wasn't a lot to explain, but Michael just had to make double sure that he wasn't going to infer that he was a sexual escort and that nothing would be suspicious about it. 

To say Michael was nervous would have been the biggest understatement of the next three centuries.

The party was on the second floor of the skyscraper according to Luke's text, so it gave Michael a chance to rethink and run out of the building without Luke or Spencer or anyone other than Ashton knowing. It was rather tempting.

"Are you okay, Mikey?" Ashton asked him as they boarded the elevator.

"Yeah, just a little nervous to be lying to my best friend and his boyfriend," Michael said truthfully.

"That would get anyone nervous," Ashton agreed. 

The elevator doors closed, trapping the fake couple in the small box. If anyone could see inside of the elevator, they wouldn't guess that Ashton and Michael were a couple. They looked like two strangers that just happened to be going the same place. They were definitely going to have to change that if they wanted to play off Michael's lie flawlessly. 

"So, are you okay with any PDA?" Michael quickly asked, feeling awkward, but it needed to be asked. 

"Well, if it were a stranger or anyone else, I would have to say no. But since it's you and we've had sex and I actually think you're a cool guy, I would have to say that I am perfectly comfortable with it," he said with a smile.

The elevator doors opened, revealing the windows that revealed the room that the party was being held in. Michael looked over at Ashton and took a deep breath, holding out his hand. Ashton nodded in reassurance and grabbed his fake boyfriend's hand with confidence. The two walked out of the elevator and towards the entrance to the party. When they got to the doors, there was a bouncer. It was somewhat odd and Michael didn't understand, but he wasn't going to question anything.

"Names please?" the bouncer asked.

"Michael Clifford and this is my plus one. Liz Hemmings' son invited us," Michael told the man. 

"It says here that you don't have a plus one," the man questioned, looking over at Ashton.

"I just informed Luke of it recently, so it probably wouldn't be on the list. You can ask Luke and Spencer," Michael told him, hoping that the bouncer wouldn't be uptight. 

"No, no. I believe you. I can see that you two are together," he said with a smile. "Have a good time."

Michael and Ashton bid the man a good night and continued into the party. Michael searched through the abundance of middle aged people for Luke and Spencer, but came up short. He would've asked Ashton to search as well, but the guy didn't even know who Luke was until last night and hadn't even seen a picture of him so it wouldn't have done any good anyway. As Michael scanned the room, he spotted Liz talking to an older couple. Michael decided that was their best option and drug Ashton over to her. 

He waited until she was done talking to them before he tapped her shoulder. She turned around and an excited smile spread across her face. "Michael! I'm so happy you showed! And who is this lovely looking lad?"

Michael returned the greeting hug that she had given him and smiled. He could tell that she was a bit buzzed from the champagne she was drinking. Liz had a tendency to drink a lot fast when she was stressed. "This is Ashton. He's my boyfriend."

"Lovely to meet you, Ashton! My name is Liz. I'm so glad that you decided to come to my gala tonight!" Liz greeted with the same hug that she had given Michael. "Might I say that Michael has an awfully good taste in men. Good job, Mikey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Liz. Michael is quite a catch himself. I would have to argue that he is the most beautiful human being on the planet, inside and out," Ashton told her, playing it off as if he truly meant it. Michael had a sliver of hope that he did, but knew not to get his hopes too high.

"And he's a sweetheart! I hope you two get married!" she joked, gently slapping Ashton on the arm. The two boys laughed along with her awkwardly, just thinking about the truth of their relationship. "I suppose you two are looking for Luke and Spencer?"

"Yeah, actually."

"The last I saw them, they were over by the dessert table. Speaking of, I would hurry and get some before they eat it all," Liz said with a wink. 

"Thank you, Liz. It was good to see you again," Michael smiled, grabbing Ashton's hand.

"It's great to see you as well, Michael! And it was a pleasure, Ashton!" she called after them. 

Michael and Ashton walked over to the dessert table where the real couple was mingling and eating cake. Michael gripped Ashton's hand tighter, nervous about introducing Ashton as someone that he really wasn't. He never really lied to Luke, his best friend, and he didn't want to, but he knew that it was too late to turn back. It was also nagging at the back of his mind that if Luke were to find out the truth about what Ashton was and what his occupation was, he would lose him as a friend. Michael didn't want that, so he had to make sure that his tracks were covered.

Spencer nudged Luke, who turned around and smiled when he saw Michael approaching. He set his cake plate down on the extra table and walked towards the fake couple with Spencer. Michael gave him a tight smile in return, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do.

"Michael! You came! I was starting to think that you were going to ditch us here," Luke said with a chuckle. 

"Hey, Mike," Spencer greeted from behind him. 

"Hey, guys. And I wouldn't ditch you at this boring thing. I actually kinda owe you for ditching you for those few days," Michael told him with a smile. 

"Speaking of...who is this?" Luke asked, bouncing on his toes in excitement. The excitement that Luke had also crushed Michael. He didn't want him to be excited for a lie. 

"Luke, Spencer, this is my boyfriend, Ashton Irwin," Michael introduced. "Ashton, this is my best friend, Luke Hemmings and his boyfriend Spencer."

"It's nice to finally meet the mystery man that has been taking my best friend's attention," Luke told him with a smile. 

"It's nice to finally meet the infamous Luke that Michael talks about all the time," Ashton said smoothly. 

"Hey, Ashton. You look really familiar. Have we met before?" Spencer asked. 

Michael could feel his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. Ashton just took a minute and looked at Spencer. "No, I don't think we have. A lot of people say that I look like Evan Peters. Maybe you're thinking of him?"

"No, I don't believe so. I actually think I've seen you before. Maybe on the internet? Do you have a Youtube channel or maybe we're friends on Facebook?" Spencer suggested. 

"I don't have either of those. I think that you may be confusing me with someone else," Ashton said with a slight laugh. Michael was silently thanking the lord that he was such a smooth liar. 

"Well, anyway, do you want some dessert, bug?" Michael asked Ashton, clapping his hands together to change the subject. 

\----


	8. Call Him Maybe?

The night had gone by slowly. Michael didn't necessarily have fun at the party, but he was supporting his best friend. Thankfully for him, the night was almost over with, but that meant that he didn't get to go home with Ashton like he desperately wanted. Instead, if he was going to relieve himself, he was either going to have to do it on his own or call the number Ashton had gifted him. He couldn't help but think it was some sort of trick. He was hoping that it was some kind of foreplay on Ashton's part in all honesty.

"You look like you're having a fantastic time," Ashton chuckled as he approached Michael.

"Oh, just a blast," Michael said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue.

"Where are your friends?" the wavy haired lad asked.

"They disappeared about an hour ago. I'm assuming they went somewhere to fuck each other," Michael shrugged.

"Sounds like they do it a lot?" Ash wondered.

"Eh, kind of. Whenever it's an event like this that they don't want to be at, they think it's cool to just disappear and leave me down here to rot," Michael admitted to him. He downed the last of the champagne that was in the flute and turned to his makeshift boyfriend. "Are you sure that you won't come home with me?"

Ashton just gave him a smile and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mikey. Just call the number I gave you and he'll make all of your wildest fantasies will come true."

"Is that his tag line? Because that's a bit cheesy," Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but I have to make him sound good so you'll stop begging me and give this guy some business," Ashton chuckled. "Don't worry. He's safe and clean. He's one of my friends. And you know that I wouldn't put you in a bad situation. I could lose my job over that and I actually enjoy doing this job."

"I can't see why you wouldn't," Michael scoffed, not meaning for it to come out as rude as it did.

"The sex is just an added bonus, believe it or not. I like to meet people and find out a little about them. Granted, I'm only meeting them for sexual purposes. But I like the social aspect of it," Ashton told him, throwing Michael into a fit of hysterics. The escort just looked at Michael with a confused grin on his face. "What the hell is so funny about that?"

"You're telling me that you're only doing this job to meet people?" Michael asked once his laughter calmed down.

"Well, not at first. When I first started it, I was just a lonely and horny teenager that wanted to fuck and make money. Now, I do it more for the social part of it," Ashton admitted.

"That's the first I've ever heard of that," Michael laughed, his eyes letting small tears escape.

Ashton stood there awkwardly and looked around the room, not sure what to do with Michael dying of laughter in front of him. People were staring at the two and Ashton felt like there was a spotlight shining right on the two of them that he strangely didn't like. Before either of them could speak again, Luke and Spencer appeared behind Michael.

"Something funny?" Luke asked as he grabbed a dessert.

Michael quit laughing for a second and looked at his friend. "Yeah, Ashton was just telling me that h-"

"I just told him a lame joke and he thought it was the funniest thing in the world," Ashton answered, saving both of their asses before Michael spilled the beans.

"Michael laughing at a lame joke? This has never happened before and should be documented in the history books. Tell me, Michael, are you drunk?" Luke wondered.

"No, it was just fucking hilarious," Michael added with the leftover chuckles in his system.

"Can we hear this joke so we can begin to understand why Michael would lose all of his shit over it?" Spencer requested.

"Um, sure," Ashton nodded. "Why is Peter Pan always flying?"

"I don't know," Spencer and Luke said.

"Because he never lands. I love this joke because it never grows old," Ashton finished.

Michael figured that he needed to continue playing along and he began to start fake laughing at it while Luke and Spencer let out a few chuckles. The three boys stared at Michael, wondering when he would calm down and quit laughing. When the blonde felt he was good and ready, he stood back up and wiped his teary eyes with the back of his hand.

"So, now that that is over with," Michael started. "Where the hell were you two at?"

"We've been down here the whole time," Luke stated.

"Don't give me that shit. If you would've been down here, I would've been talking to you," Michael pointed out.

"We were, honestly. You believe us, don't you, Ash?" Spencer asked.

Ashton stepped closer to Michael, who responded in putting his arm around his shoulders. "Michael has led me to believe otherwise."

"Jesus Christ, Michael. You've already corrupted him into believing everything you say," Luke joked.

"No, no. I've corrupted him into believing the truth, which is that you and Spencer were most likely fucking in a bathroom or some shit like that," Michael pointed out with a smirk on his face.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not surprised that you and Ashton haven't snuck off to fuck," Luke said with a prissy pout on his face.

"Bitch, please. We wouldn't have even came if we would've had the option," Michael smirked.

"I wouldn't have been opposed to that," Ashton chuckled.

Luke's eyes widened as he looked between his best friend and Ashton. "Are you telling me that you guys have...?"

Michael got a shocked look on his face. He didn't want to say yes because that would make him and Ashton look trashy, but he didn't want to keep lying to his best friend. It was a hard decision, but he had to choose the one that would save his ass in the end. "No! Jesus Christ, Luke."

"Thank goodness. I didn't think either of you were like that since you haven't even kissed each other," Luke pointed out. "But I wasn't sure because Michael's never not horny. Just a fair warning, Ash."

"Noted," Ashton chuckled.

"We kissed. Haven't we?" Michael asked, pretty sure that they had gotten all of the couple ground covered.

"I'd beg to differ. I'm starting to think that Ashton is just a decoy date," Luke winked with a playful smirk on his face. If only he knew the truth.

"No, he's my bae. Honestly, I wouldn't have gone through that much work to find a date for one night," Michael lied smoothly.

"Oh, alright. You are pretty lazy, I suppose," Spencer smirked. "No, but really, I feel like we've met before, Ashton."

Ashton shook his head quickly. "If we did, it was probably at the supermarket or something. I don't really remember faces well."

"That - "

"Thank you boys for coming tonight. I know that a gala probably wasn't your ideal Friday night plans," Liz said, hugging each of the four boys. "I'm giving you guys permission to get out of here since the majority of the important people have left. I really appreciate you all coming. And it was lovely to meet you, Ashton. I hope we see you again! You seem very good for Michael."

"Thank you, Miss. It was a very nice party and I had a good time. It was lovely to meet you as well and I'm planning on tagging along with Michael to more of these beautiful galas," Ashton said with a smile, giving Liz another hug.

"That sounds great. Keep that boy in line. He's a wild one," Liz joked.

"Hey now, Lizzy," Michael laughed. "You'd be pretty bored if I didn't come over and raise cane with Luke every now and again."

"You're right, I suppose I would be," Liz joked, hugging the boys again. "Alright, I'm going to let you guys get going. Luke, I want you at my house by noon."

"Yes, mum," Luke nodded.

"Don't sound like I treat you like a slave. You're just helping me deliver a cake to your auntie," Liz joked, booping her son's nose. "Bye, boys."

The four made their way to the elevators, none of them really talking to each other. To keep Luke's suspicions down, even if he was joking about it, Michael reached over and grabbed Ashton's hand. Ashton looked up at him and gave him a closed mouth smile and Michael responded with a squeeze. The doors opened and the four went into the small box, hitting the zero button. Now would be an even better time to subside Luke's doubts.

Michael grabbed Ashton in for a hug and connected their lips together. The kiss wasn't at all a mistake because it was a beautiful kiss. Their mouths moved in sync and Michael could feel a slight spark, even though he wasn't supposed to. He figured that it was just the sensation that they were flawlessly sneaking around as a couple when they really weren't.

"Do you guys want to get a room? I don't know about Luke, but I really don't want to witness you guys having sex," Spencer interrupted.

The two broke apart and Michael looked at the two with a smile. "Where do you suppose we're going as soon as we get in the car?"

"Michael!" Luke said in shock.

"What? It's what couples do, dingus," Michael joked. "You shouldn't be so surprised. I'm sure you've had Spencer's dick in your ass more times than Kim Kardashian filmed sex tapes."

Luke's cheeks tinted a deep red and Spencer burst out laughing. The elevator doors opened, saving Luke from more embarrassment. The four started walking towards the doors, Luke making Spencer walk a little faster than he normally was.

"You kids have fun and use protection," Spencer said as Luke drug him out the glass doors.

"Ditto!" Michael called out.

The two sauntered outside to Michael's car without a word. When they got there, Michael pinned Ashton gently against the driver's side and placed his lips on Ashton's plump pink ones. He wanted so badly for Ashton to stop referring him with a number and just go home with him. He would pay him double if that's what it would take.

"Please come home with me," Michael whispered against Ashton's lips. "I'll pay you double."

"Michael, I don't want you to pay me extra. I can't go home with you tonight, even though I would be more than happy to. We can do it another night, yeah? Just call that number and I promise you won't be disappointed," Ashton told him again.

"Do you know for a fact that I'll be satisfied? I mean, you're the only one that can satisfy me perfectly," Michael flirted.

"Michael, stop. You know that I can't have relations with clients, so if you're trying to do that, then we're going to have to end this business interaction," Ashton told him as he pushed Michael off.

"No, I know that, Ash. I was...I was trying to be seductive and make you magically change your mind and come home with me," Michael admitted with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to make you defensive or offended or anything."

Ashton was quiet for moment. "Oh...I'm sorry for assuming. It's just...that kind of thing has happened before and I almost lost my job and it's my only source of income and I can't afford to lose it. I'm sorry, Michael."

"Don't be. It's fine," Michael said, feeling embarrassed.

Ashton got out of the way of the driver's door and Michael got into the car. Ashton followed shortly after and they began their adventure back to Michael's apartment. There wasn't many words spoken for the first few minutes. It was Ashton who spoke up first.

"I promise you that you won't be disappointed with my referral. He's very good at what he does and I would only refer the best to you since you've done nothing but good for me. Just tell him that I told you to call. You'll get a discount," Ashton told him with a smile.

Michael pulled his car to the curb, not even sure that he wanted to call the number anyway. "Okay. Thanks again for doing the whole fake boyfriend thing. And the number. I'll be sure to call it. Are you sure you're okay getting home?"

"I'll be fine, Mikey. Now, go have fun and I want a good review when we speak again," Ashton smirked.

The two got out of the vehicle and went their separate ways. The first thing that Michael was going to do was get out of his fancy clothes and probably eat pizza. He was still iffy on the number that Ashton gave him. It wasn't that he thought it was sketchy, he just didn't know if he wanted to call. There wasn't really a reason, which was odd since he wouldn't really be one to pass up sex - especially this apparently amazing sex according to Ashton.

After he got in his bedroom, he stripped off his clothes and put the business card on his dresser. He looked down at the clock. It was only eleven-thirty, which was much earlier than he had expected to be home from the gala. He wasn't necessarily tired either, but he didn't know what to do with himself. He figured that he might as well call the number out of pure curiosity.

_"Hello?"_ a male voice answered.

"Hi. Um, I was given this number and told to call it by Ashton Irwin? He works for Heaven's Gates and he referred me to you," Michael told the mystery person on the other side.

"Oh. So, I'm guessing you were the infamous Michael he was telling me about?" the man asked.

"Well, yes. He was talking about me? He didn't really say much about you," Michael said awkwardly. 

"My name is Calum. We're going to get to know each other _quite_ well."

\----


	9. Plugged & Conflicted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning to all Malum shippers: Here's some smut for y'all.

Michael walked towards his front door wearing only his loose fitting pajama pants. As he took each step, his anxiety levels rose. On the other side of his door was this mystery man that Ashton had bragged about Michael to. It felt kind of odd knowing that he was going to have sex with someone that knew Ashton and Ashton knew that they were going to be doing it. That's what bugged Michael just a hair, but he knew that he couldn't have feelings for Ashton, so he went along with it anyway. And if Ashton wasn't lying to him, this Calum guy was supposed to be hot as hell as well. 

Michael took a deep breath and opened the door, being faced with an attractive tan guy that resembled a puppy. "Hi there. Are you Calum?"

"Ashton was right about you; you're sexy," Calum replied, ignoring Michael's question. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

Michael nodded and without another word, Calum let himself in and smashed their mouths together. The tan boy caught Michael off guard, but the boy happily complied to the shorter boy's gesture. The two stumbled through the apartment back to Michael's bedroom, not letting their lips leave one another's. Michael kicked the door shut with his foot as soon as they got into the bedroom. Michael was now the one doing the leading and pushed Calum gently back onto the bed before crawling over him. 

"I figured you'd top," the boy stated as he slightly panted, his brown eyes glistening in the light. 

"I'm glad you bottom," was all Michael said before attacking the tan boy's lips again. 

Michael couldn't get over how good this boy's lips felt against his own. Before he knew, Calum was tugging at Michael's pants, but the dominant wasn't going to comply just yet. He wanted Calum to be the first one undressed. That way, Michael wouldn't feel vulnerable. He gripped both sides of the bottom of Calum's thin jumper and tore it over the lad's head. Michael couldn't help but gawk at the boy's perfectly toned midsection. It made him feel slightly insecure.

"You like?" Calum smirked. Michael just responded with a quick nod of his head, not being able to take his eyes off of the other boy. "Let's keep going and I can impress you more."

Calum didn't have to say it twice and Michael was already fumbling with the boy's skinny jeans as they continued making out with one another. It didn't take long for the jeans to come off before Calum was down to his boxers. Calum's boner was outlined perfectly in his boxers, making Michael literally ache. Without anymore hesitation, Michael quickly stripped down to nothing, the colder air hitting his hard-on sent shivers up his spine.

"Can we use something?" Calum asked suddenly. 

"Oh, definitely. I have the lube and condom on the nightstand alre-" Michael started, but was cutoff.

"No. I mean a butt plug. Would you be open to using one?" Calum asked, raising his eyebrow.

Michael furrowed his brow. He had never used a butt plug before and it somewhat scared him. What was it going to do for him other than stretch his hole? But by the seductive look on Calum's face, he figured that there was a first for everything. "Sure."

"Is there something you want me to call you?" Calum asked after attacking Michael's lips with a sloppy kiss. 

"Daddy is good," Michael responded without hesitation. 

"Switch places with me, daddy," Calum said, the smirk on his face was evident in his voice.

Michael switched places with the escort, his elbows and forearms resting on the soft bed. He bit his lip, not sure what to expect. Before long, Michael felt Calum slide two of his now wet fingers over the hole, causing more shivers up Michael's spine. Suddenly, Michael felt Calum's finger slide into his tight hole, a moan escaping his throat. 

"Don't worry, daddy. It will only take a minute to stretch you a little bit," Calum told him.

Soon enough, Calum entered yet another finger and worked inside of Michael, curling them and sending the boy into a euphoric state. He could've came if the boy would've continued. Maybe that's what the butt plug was supposed to do. Calum took his fingers out of Michael and replaced them with a thicker object that made Michael cry out in pain. The plug went deep into Michael, but he knew that they felt a foot longer than what they actually were and the pain would soon be replaced with pleasure. 

"Feel good, daddy?" Calum asked. 

Michael nodded, trying to mask the slight discomfort he felt from the plug. He got up from the bed and turned to face Calum. "Are you going to be a good boy for daddy now?" 

"Yes, sir," Calum complied, looking at Michael innocently. 

Michael instructed the boy to lay on his back on the bed. Once he did, Michael didn't waste any time lowering himself on top of Calum, their hard-ons rubbing together. Michael began to grind against the escort as they intertwined their tongues together, the room filling with the sounds of both of their moans. 

"I need you now, daddy. Please," Calum begged in Michael's ear. 

Michael couldn't help but comply to the boy's begging. He rose up off of Calum and stood there, tugging his length a few times to get himself hard again. He grabbed the condom and the plain flavored lube from the nightstand. After the boy slid the condom on, he squirted a glob of the lube into the palm of his hand. He slicked up his dick and then rubbed the excess on three of his fingers to prep Calum. 

"Don't cum until I say, okay, princess?" Michael instructed. 

"Yes, daddy."

Michael inserted his pointer finger into Calum's tight, tight hole, moving it in and out quickly before inserting another. After a good five minutes of prepping and three inserted fingers later, Michael took out the digits. He lined his cock up with Calum's hole and slowly entered Calum, a wince on the boy's face the deeper Michael got. 

He waited a minute to let the dark haired boy adjust to Michael's size before he slowly began thrusting in him. Michael could feel the butt plug inside his ass every time he fucked into Calum, causing him an overwhelming feeling of euphoria. Michael moved faster and deeper, loving the feeling of the butt plug as well as the tightness of Calum. The dark haired boy was letting out loud and pornographic moans with each and every one of Michael's thrusts, causing Michael to get even more and more turned on. 

"Fuck, daddy, I'm close," Calum moaned out. 

"Don't cum until I tell you," Michael commanded, expecting the boy to hold off like Ashton did. 

"I-I can't, daddy," Calum cried and just as Michael opened his eyes, Calum's chest, as well as his own, was being painted with white ribbons of Calum's cum. 

Michael wasn't one of those dominants that would get mad at their submissive for something like that, but he was so used to Ashton holding off and cumming hard and in sync with Michael. Whereas now, Michael wasn't ready to cum. He had a little bit until he would feel that warm feeling in his stomach - even with the butt plug in. 

"I'm sorry, daddy," Calum panted as Michael slowly continued to fuck him. 

There was only one solution that would help Michael cum faster and he had no choice but to do it because he didn't want to have to sit and fuck Calum when he wouldn't be enjoying it. So, Michael did what his mind had been wanting the entire time: he pictured himself fucking Ashton. 

He imagined himself sliding quickly in and out of the wavy haired boy while Ashton writhed beneath him. He could hear Ashton's loud and deep moans in the back of his mind. The thing that got him going was imagining Ashton screaming out Michael's name as he came, looking so wrecked and fucked beneath Ashton. Michael finally released inside of Calum, letting out a long and much called for moan. He almost called out Ashton's name until he opened his eyes and saw a wrecked Calum beneath him. Feeling suddenly deprived, Michael pulled out of Calum before sliding off the condom full of his own liquids and tossing it in the trash. 

"Oh, daddy...you were amazing," Calum panted from the bed. "Ready to be my good boy?" 

Michael gave the supposedly submissive boy a sideways glance. "What?"

"It's daddy's turn to punish you," Calum said with a smirk. "That's why you have the butt plug in."

Michael didn't know if he had the energy to go for another round, but he knew that he didn't have the energy to fight Calum on the idea, so he just nodded lazily. It wasn't like he was going to have to do much work other than lay there and take it. It was Calum that was going to be more tuckered out than him. 

Calum pushed Michael back onto the spot that he had previously been, moving in between the boy's legs and squatting down so he was right in front of Michael's semi-hard member again. Calum wrapped his lips around the tip of Michael's dick and began to slowly take Michael into his mouth. Michael couldn't help but groan at the feeling. He had to give Calum one thing and that was that he could give amazing head. Almost as amazing as Ashton. 

Before Michael could cum again, Calum took his mouth off of Michael's member with a pop. He stood up and lifted Michael's ass up. He grabbed onto the butt plug and slowly pulled it out, leaving Michael feeling empty. It wasn't long before he was refilled with Calum's thick member, causing Michael's eyes to go back into his head. 

Michael enjoyed the sex, but it wasn't as good as it was with Ashton. It was one of those shags that felt like it would only be a one time thing, which Michael was fine with. He only wanted to fuck Ashton because they did so well together and Michael was always wanting to do more to Ashton, whereas now that he was with Calum, he was just waiting until it ended. 

Before Michael knew, he was cumming. It wasn't as hard as he normally came, but he did at least a little. Calum pulled out of him and took off the condom before collapsing next to Michael on the bed. 

"You mind if I stay the night?" Calum asked, panting. "Don't worry about it costing you anything."

"As long as you stay on the couch," Michael responded. If it were Ashton, he would've let him sleep in his bed with him.

"Mind if I clean up?" he asked.

"Go for it."

Calum got up from the bed and hobbled into Michael's bathroom. Once he heard the door click shut, Michael got up himself and went to the kitchen, his ass slightly pulsating from the lack of being filled. He grabbed a few paper towels, dampening them and wiped off his chest until he felt that the area was spic and span. He walked back to his bedroom and went to his dresser to grab out a pair of boxers. He slid them on quickly and then put his pajama pants on. 

After he was cleaned up, he figured that the comforter was going to need washing since it smelled of sex and was full of cum. Quietly, Michael pulled off the comforter and brought it to his newly empty hamper, shoving it inside. He grabbed the spare zebra one from the closet and unfolded it as he put it on the bed. Once everything was pretty much cleaned up, Michael crawled into the bed and curled up in his normal spot. The water was still running in his bathroom, which was fine with him. He was hoping that he would fall asleep because he didn't want to see Calum walk out. He wanted to continue to imagine that it was Ashton and he didn't want to be faced with the reality.

He knew that he couldn't have these feelings about Ashton because he would end up losing him. It was against the contract and Michael swore that he wouldn't feel anything towards him. He promised Ashton and now he was in the situation he was in. He should never have called Calum. Michael wouldn't be in the predicament he was in. Michael had to keep telling himself that he couldn't feel the feelings he did, but it was hard to deny them. 

He was truly conflicted.

\----


	10. Closed Deal

Michael hobbled out to the kitchen, almost having a heart attack when he saw Calum sitting up on the couch, typing out a text message. He almost forgot that he let the guy stay on his couch after their night together. Now he didn't know what the hell to say to the guy. If it were Ashton, he wouldn't have had a problem coming up with some type of conversation. Michael mentally slapped himself for thinking about Ashton. It seemed that his thoughts were beyond consumed with the guy. It was unfortunate because he didn't want to have to stop seeing Ashton

"Morning," Calum said, knocking Michael from his Ashton-centric thoughts.

"Good morning," Michael said with a half-smile.

Without another word, Michael began to get out the supplies for making coffee. It felt a little odd to have someone that wasn't his friends or family staying in his living room. What made it more awkward was the fact that he had had sex with him, but Michael tried not to think about the awkward scenario.

"Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee?" Michael asked, feeling obligated to offer.

Calum shook his head. "No, thanks though. I should really be going pretty soon."

"Oh, okay," Michael said. He went back into his room, grabbing his wallet from his pants so he could go back out to Calum before he left. He dug in his wallet, seeing if he had the right amount of cash. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing."

Michael looked up from his wallet at the brown eyed boy. "What do you mean? I have to owe you something. Your profile said that you charge."

"I appreciate the gesture and willingness, but you've been taken care of," Calum chuckled.

Michael quirked his eyebrow in confusion. He couldn't have been that amazing in bed to get it free. "How?"

"Ashton paid. And don't worry, he got the coworker discount," Calum winked. Michael just stood there, appalled that Ashton had done that. He couldn't make up his mind whether or not he was flattered. "Well, I should be on my way. Thanks for the couch. By the way, last night was wonderful. If you get sick of Ashton, let me know and we can do it again sometime."

"Yeah...sure will," Michael said, too preoccupied with his thoughts to sound remotely interested.

Calum walked out of his apartment within the next five minutes, leaving Michael alone. He rushed back into his room, grabbing his phone from its charger. He saw that Luke had texted him, asking if Michael and Ashton wanted to catch lunch with him and Spencer. It was a split second decision, but Michael figured that he could meet Ashton early and he could ask him why in hell he had wasted his hard earned cash on Michael having a good time _without_ him.

**_To: Ashton Irwin_ **

**_Luke wants us to meet him and Spencer for lunch at 11:30. Are you available to be my fake boyfriend again?_ **

Michael figured that Ashton would say no. He felt like he was asking the boy for too much with their relationship being purely business. He didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage of Ashton's services, but he somewhat needed him if he didn't want Luke to find out that he had been lying about having a boyfriend the entire time.

**_From: Ashton Irwin_ **

**_Surely. I'll be at your house at 11:20 :)_ **

Michael was pleasantly surprised at the response. He was excited to see Ashton because, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he missed him. They had only been apart for a maximum of twelve hours, but during that time, Michael had fucked a different escort while constantly thinking about Ashton. In all denial, he wished that he was only missing Ashton because they were starting to become more friends instead of having a employee-costumer relationship. With every last ounce of hope he had, he wanted that to be the case.

\----

"These two eat early, don't they?" Ashton chuckled as they entered the designated restaurant.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Whenever they ask me to lunch, I don't eat breakfast," Michael chuckled.

The pair approached the waitress podium, a woman stepping out with two menus and a professional smile plastered on her face. "Welcome. How many?"

"We're meeting two people here. I don't know if they told you their names, but I believe it's under Luke Hemmings," Michael told her, knowing full well that Luke and Spencer weren't going to be at the restaurant until 11:45.

"I'm afraid that none of our customers have mentioned that they were meeting anyone here. Do you have a picture of him? Maybe we could find your party by that," the waitress suggested.

Michael dug out his phone and brought up the most recent picture of him and Luke, showing it to the waitress. She just shook her head, stating that she hadn't seen him come in yet and decided to just give them a table for when the two would come in. Ashton didn't suspect a thing, which relieved Michael. The last thing he needed was for Ashton to find out the unwanted hidden feelings that Michael had towards him.

"Well, maybe they even decided that they eat too early," Ashton joked when the waitress walked away.

"That could be. Or they're deciding to give me a taste of my own medicine. I'm always late when I'm meeting them somewhere, so they're probably just being asshats," Michael told him with a laugh.

"Asshats? I've never heard that one before," Ashton stated.

"I don't remember where I got it from. I think I saw it being used somewhere on social media," Michael threw out there.

"So, I'll ask this before your friends get here because I don't want you to get caught in your web," Ashton smirked. "How was last night? I've heard the report that you were just as good as I described."

"It was brilliant actually," Michael said. _It would have been better if it were you._

"Good! I've never...experienced him, but I've heard amazing reports from my past clients that I've referred to him," Ashton smiled.

"Why did you pay for it?" Michael blurted out.

Ashton just shrugged, as if he was expecting the question to have been asked. "Because I figured I owed it to you. I mean, I did practically force you to call him."

"You didn't have to do that. How much was it? I'll repay you," Michael urged. He was more than willing to refund Ashton. Michael wasn't a huge advocate of borrowing money because he didn't like to have to pay people back.

"Michael, don't worry about it. I did it out of the goodness of my heart. Honestly, just consider it a gift," Ashton said, refusing Michael.

"Alright, fine. But I will repay you somehow," Michael told him.

"Repayment in the bedroom will be perfect," Ashton winked. If only he knew what that sentence and wink did to Michael.

"I do have a question about last night, though," Michael prompted. Ashton nodded, encouraging him to go on. "Why weren't you able to do it last night? Did you have another client?"

Ashton shook his head. "No, no. I try to stick with only one or two clients at a time, depending on how busy they keep with me. I also try not to see them in the same day. So, no, I was only with you yesterday and then I went home for a night off watching Dating Naked and splurging on food."

Michael smiled at how cute and blushy Ashton got when he was admitting the previous night's activities. "You know, that sounds better than having sex."

"Sometimes it is. I often get tired of sex and just what my job consists of, so I want a night off once in a while. It's nothing personal, but I just need a break to be myself and veg out," he admitted, looking down. It was almost as if he was embarrassed. He looked up again, his eyes meeting mine. "I don't normally tell people this, especially clients...could you refrain from reporting it to Heaven's Gates? They don't know that I sometimes reject clients."

"Don't worry, I won't. I get it. As fun of a job as it is, it has downsides. I feel honored you admitted this to me though," Michael said with a smile. "It makes me feel like we have more than just an employee-client relationship. I feel like we're becoming friends."

Ashton looked up, about to say something and Michael was scared to hear what it was. That's when Luke and Spencer walked in, saving Michael from hearing the awkward and unwanted comment that could've came out of Ashton's mouth.

\----

"Michael, you are so whipped, it hurts," Luke chuckled as they walked out of the restaurant.

"What are you talking about?" Michael asked, hoping that his fondness for Ashton wasn't obvious, but he wasn't always discreet about things.

"You would do anything for Ashton, even if he didn't ask. He's whipped, right, Ash?" Spencer asked.

"I mean..." Ashton awkwardly said, shrugging and trailing off.

"You don't see it either?!" Luke asked, perplexed at the idea. "Have you not seen the way he looks at you? It's like you're the only one in the room."

"No need to exaggerate, mate," Michael said, trying to get Luke to stop ruining it with Ashton.

"I'm not exaggerating, Mikey! Don't be embarrassed. It's actually really sweet and I wish that Spencer would look at me like that," Luke said, chuckling when Spencer gave him a playful hit on the shoulder.

"Well, we're going to leave you lovebirds to figuring out how much you love each other while I find a way to prove Luke that I love him just as much as you love each other," Spencer joked.

The two pairs bid goodbye and went their separate ways, leaving Michael and Ashton alone. The two began to walk down the street in an awkward silence. Michael hoped that Ashton wouldn't bring up what had just taken place. He had never feared losing someone as much as he did with Ashton and they weren't even in a relationship. Hell, they were barely even friends. As much as he wanted to be more, he knew that it wasn't going to happen that way and was content with how things were because he at least got to spend time with Ashton. Now Luke went and unknowingly may have ruined what he had.

"What are you doing the rest of the day?" Michael asked, figuring that he should just ignore what happened and act like it was a joke or just not a big deal.

"I was going to clean up my apartment. I've kind of neglected it in the past few weeks," Ashton said.

"Oh, do you want some help?" Michael offered, trying to act like a friend to the escort.

Ashton stopped in his tracks, causing Michael to turn and look at him. "Listen, Michael. I...that's not necessary. I just want to say that I don't think that I can see you anymore."

"What?" Michael croaked.

"It's not a good idea if I continue having you as a client. It's my strict policy not to form any romantic relations with clients and you are beginning to think that you're more than just a client and I can't have that," Ashton started. "I'm really sorry, Michael. You're a very wonderful person, but I can't continue this business deal anymore. Don't worry about any type of payment or anything. It was a fun time getting to know you a little bit throughout this deal."

"Ashton, I'm n-"

"Goodbye, Michael."

\----


	11. Filling the Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: SMUT

Michael sat in his apartment for the third day in a row, still not over the fact that he could no longer contact Ashton. He knew that they weren't dating or anything, but he had started to feel some type of bond with the boy. To have him just leave like that hurt Michael. Ashton was fun to hang out with and talk to, but now Michael couldn't have any sort of communication with him. 

He didn't even want to have to talk to Luke and Spencer because they would just give him all the sappy sympathy and he didn't want it. All they knew about Ashton and Michael was a lie. It made Michael sick to his stomach just thinking about it. 

Michael's phone began to ring on the end table next to him and the boy nearly dived to get it. He was so hopeful that it would be Ashton every time the phone made a sound, but he ended up disappointed in the end. Michael let out a groan, flopping back on the couch. It was Luke and he didn't want to talk to the kid. He had ignored his constant calls and messages for the past three days. He wasn't going to start answering now. 

Feeling the urge to go to the bathroom, Michael stood up and lazily walked in. His mirror was right in front of him as he walked in, the reflection staring back at him causing him to let out a yelp. His chin had a good start on a beard while everything else about him looked tired and grimey. It made sense since he hadn't taken a shower. As much as he knew that he was going to need one, he didn't want to take one. That would wash away the last of Ashton's touches. Michael didn't want to get rid of the only thing that Michael had from him.

After he finished up in the bathroom, he went back out to his indent in the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the television. One of his favorite movies was on the channel - Deadpool. It was just starting and it was pretty much an omen that Michael should continue to neglect his hygiene and watch it. 

Michael was pretty content...up until it got to the long sex scene between Wade and Vanessa. For some reason, that scene always got him worked up. He wanted to relieve it right there, but he didn't want to wank. He wanted something more than that. He wanted to feel good. That's when he had an idea. Michael sat up on the couch, pausing the movie. He grabbed his phone and went down to the number that he knew he shouldn't have and tapped on it. 

"Hello, Calum. Do you take walk-ins?"

\----

"So, you're saying that Deadpool turned you on?" Calum asked once he arrived at Michael's.

"Those sex scenes are pretty hot," Michael told him, leading him back to the bedroom. 

Once the two were in the bedroom, they were silent, both looking at each other and their eyes filling with lust. Calum was the first to make the move, pushing Michael down on the bed and attacking his neck. As he sucked on his neck, his hands worked his way down Michael's body, finally getting to where his hard on was in his shorts. Calum began to palm Michael through the thin fabric, eliciting loud moans from the boy. 

"Fuck, Calum," Michael whined. 

"Let me suck you off, daddy," Calum panted, moving his way off of Michael so he was kneeling right in front of his dick. 

Michael responded by quickly nodding his head. Calum grabbed the waistband of the basketball shorts and boxers on Michael's hips and began to slide them down the boy's legs, his hardened member springing up as soon as it was released. Michael couldn't help but watch as Calum eyed it, slowly moving towards it and wrapping his lips around the tip. The warmth and sensation from Calum's mouth sent Michael into a frenzy of pleasure. 

He made eye contact with the brown eyed boy, who bobbed his head in a slow but seductive way. Michael was about to cum from the few times that Calum bobbed and swirled his tongue around the tip, squeezing his eyes shut the way he does every time it happens. As soon as it was about to happen, Calum popped off and crawled back on top of Michael. 

"Can I ride you, daddy?" Calum asked, his lips slick. 

"Yes, baby," Michael panted. Calum quickly slid off his pants and positioned himself above Michael. "Don't you want me to prep you first?"

"No, daddy. I want you raw," he said with a devilish smile.

Michael wasn't going to object. Calum grabbed Michael's hard on, aligning it with his hole and the lowered himself down onto Michael, letting out pained cries the farther he went. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Are you okay, baby?" Michael asked, not wanting to hurt the poor boy.

"Hurts so good," Calum squeaked out. 

The tight feeling of Calum's hole made Michael groan. The heat encased his member, making him want to fuck up into Calum, but he knew that he had to wait until Calum was comfortable. Once he had taken all of Michael in, Calum waited just a minute before he began to bounce up and down, loud moans from both boys filling the room. 

"What the actual fuck?!" 

Michael and Calum's heads snapped to the doorway. Luke was standing there with his mouth hanging open in shock. Calum and Michael were frozen in place, stark naked with embarrassed yet shocked expressions on their faces. 

"Michael, do you want to tell me why the hell your dick is in some dude that obviously is not Ashton?!" Luke asked, snapping Michael out of his humiliated frozen state. 

"I...um, I," Michael stuttered, not knowing what to say to Luke. He didn't ever plan for something like this to ever happen. 

"I am _not_ going to listen to explain this while you're...in the middle of this. Get some fucking clothes on," Luke commanded, storming out of Michael's bedroom. 

After he was gone, Calum turned his head, looking down at Michael with wide eyes. "Who the fuck is that? Do you have a boyfriend? What the hell?!" 

"He's my best friend...he believes that Ashton and I are in a relationship, but it's fake so he'd stay off my back about finding someone. You can't tell him that it's fake," Michael explained, practically begging the escort to keep his mouth shut. "I had no idea that he would be coming to my house today."

"No, no, don't worry about it. And don't worry about paying for anything. I'll make an exception for this," Calum said, lifting himself off of Michael. 

Michael laid on the bed for a minute longer, putting his hands over his eyes. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He didn't know how the hell he was going to explain anything to Luke. He didn't want him to know the truth about what Ashton was, but he didn't want him to think that he was a slut or that he was "cheating" on Ashton. 

By the time Michael took his hands off his eyes and went to get clothes on, Calum was already dressed and getting ready to walk out. Michael gave him a sympathetic look. "Listen, I'm sorry we got interrupted. Reschedule?"

"Yeah, I was having fun. Next time, make sure you don't have any surprise guests though," Calum chuckled with a wink. 

Calum left the room. As Michael threw on a new pair of boxers and his pajama pants, he didn't hear any words being spoken in the other room. He already knew that Luke was judging Calum harshly without even knowing the reasoning as to why he was in Michael's apartment in the first place. Once Michael looked semi decent, he went out the living room where Luke was sitting and looking on his phone, most likely texting Spencer about the drama that he had just encountered. 

"Do you want something to drink or eat?" Michael asked awkwardly. He figured that he might as well make the situation as normal as he possibly could. 

"You think I have an appetite after walking in on my best friend fucking some guy that isn't his boyfriend? You're twisted," Luke pointed out, not even caring if he was being rude.

"Luke," Michael said with a warning voice. 

"What? You shouldn't be sleeping with someone else," Luke shrugged. 

Michael learned that Luke can be a savage beast when calling someone out on their bullshit. Michael never thought that he would be a victim of it, but he did technically walk into it. He didn't care what he said, just as long as he got his point across and made the guilty party feel ashamed and like actual shit. The only thing that was different with Michael is that Luke didn't know the true situation and Michael wasn't at all ready to tell him.

"You don't know the fucking situation, Luke," Michael spat, getting himself a glass of ice water. 

"I don't need to know the situation to know that you're a lying ass cheat! Why the hell would you even think about doing that to Ashton?! He's a sweet guy! He wouldn't do it to you! Who the fuck was that guy even?!" Luke erupted, not about to listen to Michael justify the situation.

"Luke, can I fucking explain something to you?! Would you just fucking shut up and stop assuming all of this shit for one damn second?!" Michael yelled, not really in the mood to listen to Luke bitch him out. 

"Explain what? What the fuck is there to explain, Michael?" Luke asked, but before Michael could get a word in, Luke spoke again. "No, you know what? Humor me. Tell me your excuses. I want to hear how creative this shit can get."

Michael was fuming, ready to pounce and beat Luke to the ground. He wasn't going to let Luke sit there and try to make him feel like a piece of shit. Normally, when Luke would do this to someone, Michael would praise him by calling him the slay king, but when it was pointed at Michael, he realized how ruthless and inappropriate that it was of him. He didn't even want to give Michael the time of day to explain himself. Luke shouldn't even have any concern with it. It wasn't like Michael was his property.

Michael took a deep breath, knowing that this had to end. "I didn't cheat on anyone. You know why? Because Ashton and I were _never_ together. I never had a boyfriend. Ashton's an escort. I _paid_ him to be my boyfriend and he was willing. I paid him for sex. All those times you saw him, he was on the clock. And that guy you saw? He was an escort as well. My deal with Ashton ended after lunch that day. You know why? Because you and Spencer decided to fuck it up. So, thank you so fucking much for ruining my satisfaction."

Luke didn't say anything. He just sat there, staring at Michael as if he grew a third head. "So, you're telling me that you lied to me?"

"Technically, yeah. You know why? Because you wouldn't fucking get off my ass for not having a boyfriend. You don't seem to understand that nobody wants to date me because I'm a loser. I don't blame any of them. I wouldn't date me either. I have nothing to fucking offer," Michael explained. 

"So, you lied to me about having a boyfriend and also signing up for that escort service? You wasted your own money just to please me? Really, Michael?" Luke asked, his tone turning judgmental. "I don't give a shit whether or not you're dating anyone. I want you to be happy and you were getting so down on yourself about it. I was trying to reassure you that you're good enough for anyone, but now that I know you lied to me about something as sad as that, I'm not so sure you are anymore."

"Luke, if I wouldn't have shown up with a date, you would've ridiculed me so harshly," Michael spat. "It's always been about you judging me and getting on my ass about my love life - well, lack their of. Just because you have a boyfriend, you think that everyone should. Do you realize how much pressure that puts on me when you go around telling me that I need to get with someone? When I don't have someone, you're always rubbing it into my face and telling me that I need to find someone in order to be happy, blah blah blah. You think that I don't want somebody that loves you just as much as Spencer loves you? I do. But I don't want to have to be forced to find someone to make please you. Granted, that's what I did with Ashton, but the situation is different because I actually had feelings for him. You just want me to get with someone so you can stop giving me your unwanted pity every time I hang out with you and Spencer."

Luke was silent. Michael felt bad for lying and yelling at him like he was, but in order for Luke to understand why he did what he did, the yelling was what he had to do. Luke looked at him, his blue eyes meeting Michael's green ones. "Why did Spencer and I ruin your deal with Ashton? All we did is ask you out to lunch. It's not any different than the party other than the scene." 

"Because you pointed out my feelings for him. Before, he was oblivious to them."

Luke looked down, a look of guilt crossing his face. Michael felt tears stinging the back of his eyes. It was a mixture of angry, guilty, and sad tears. He was mad about Luke being so rude, he felt guilty for lying to him and for having slept with Calum instead of Ashton, and he was just sad about it all. He didn't have Ashton. Granted, whenever they were together, they fucked or they had to play pretend, but Michael still liked having him around. The boy was fun to be around and he just wanted him back. 

"Mike, I'm sorry," Luke said, no louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry that I made you feel like that. I'm a terrible friend...I thought I was helping you."

Michael didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say anything. "Don't worry about it."

With that, Michael got up and grabbed his black zip up hoodie and black snapback, putting them on as he walked out of the apartment. He needed air because he felt like he was suffocating. 

"Where are you going?" Luke asked, looking shocked that Michael was just up and leaving Luke in his apartment.

"I need air."

\----

Michael walked up and down the dark streets. It was getting late and he was hoping that Luke had left his apartment. The last thing he wanted was to go back home to see someone sitting in there. He sat down on a bench, his hands in his pockets and his hood up over the hat.

He wished that he had more friends than just Luke and Spencer. As much as he wanted to be alone, he wanted to be with someone. He was alone with his thoughts and that's the last thing that he wanted to be with. All Michael wanted was somewhere to cry and someone to hug him and tell him that it would be okay. The only person that came to mind when he imagined that was Ashton. He didn't want Ashton as an escort - he wanted him as a friend, as something more even. Michael felt like he could be himself when he was around Ashton. Granted, the boy had seen him naked more times than any guy ever had, but that didn't really matter. There was something about Ashton that made Michael feel that way. He could make anyone feel that way, Michael thought. 

Michael was knocked from his Ashton-centric thoughts when someone that looked sketchy sat on the opposite end of the bench. He noticed that his eyes had leaked, bringing his sleeve covered hand up to his wet eyes and wiped them before getting up. He decided that he should just go back to his apartment before he found himself begging for his life to be spared with gun to his neck or knife to his throat. 

The walk back to his apartment building was quicker than he had originally thought it would've been. It turned out that he hadn't ended up more than four blocks away. He had just took the long way around. When he got to his actual apartment, he braced himself to find Luke acting like a melodramatic mother and Spencer trying to calm him down inside. But when he opened the door, it was dark except for the light in his kitchen. 

Michael flipped the main light switch cautiously, as if he expected someone to jump out at him, but nobody came. It was pleasantly quiet. Luke was gone and the apartment was empty, just how Michael had wanted it to be when he had arrived back. He noticed a piece of paper on the kitchen counter blowing in the breeze of the ceiling fan. Closing the door behind him, Michael went over to where the paper was being held down by a ballpoint pen. He picked it up, reading Luke's chicken scrawl.

**_Michael-_ **

**_I knew that you wouldn't want me here when you came back, so I'm gone. I'm sorry that I made you feel like that. I'm sorry for being a terrible friend to you like that. But I'm not the one who should be apologizing. You lied to me, Michael. You lied to my mum, Spencer...God knows who else. You didn't have to fake a relationship to get acceptance or love from any of us. I'm sorry that you felt that you had to do that. I'm sorry for Ashton having to get used like that. If that's how he really is, you two would've actually made a good couple. His f_ ** _**açade made him seem like a really good person and he was good at acting like he really did like you.** _

**_I'm hurt, Michael. But I'm willing to forgive you. Call me when you want to talk._ **

**_Luke._ **

Michael set down the paper, shaking his head. He wasn't in the mood to deal with it or talk to Luke because the wound was too fresh to dress. There wasn't a doubt in Michael's mind that Luke was going to make an exception and not make him feel like utter shit. Instead of telling it to his face, he did it through a letter. 

But one thing stuck out in the letter to Michael. It was Luke's explanation of Ashton's acting like he actually did like Michael. As much as he wanted it to be true, he knew that it probably wasn't. But he couldn't help but wish.

\----


	12. Confession Hour

He knew that he should've contacted his best friend, but Michael just continued to lock himself away from everyone. Why put himself in the predicament of yet another scolding? It wasn't going to be about the lying so much as it was going to be about how desperate signing up for Heaven's Gates looked. Speaking of, he hadn't even checked that profile in ages. He couldn't bring himself to. 

He missed Ashton. Every piece of him wanted to text him and ask him to talk, ask him if they could start their deal again, but Michael was too gutless to even send a simple 'hi'. He didn't care that he used to have feelings for Ashton. Those feelings had dissipated by now. Michael only missed Ashton. He missed the friendship. Their funny conversations from when they weren't having sex. It was all just a short lived memory.

Michael quickly turned on his Spotify playlist, not wanting to be alone with his mind anymore. He went back to making his cold ham and cheese sandwich, trying not to cringe at the food. It had been a while since he had been to the grocery store and he was running out of food. He didn't even like ham and cheese normally, so he didn't understand why he even had it in his refrigerator. After putting together the unwanted sandwich while rocking out to My Chemical Romance, there was a soft knock on Michael's front door.

The boy's head snapped in the direction as he paused the music. He wanted to get his hopes up because he knew that the only person that would knock would be Ashton. That was who he wanted it to be and he was ready for it to be him. Cautiously but quickly, Michael made his way to the door, bracing himself not to melt and cry into Ashton's arms right away since they might not be as welcoming as he hopes they would be. 

But as soon as he opened the door, he felt his heart drop.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" Michael asked, not meaning for it to come out as rude as it did.

"I'm here because I have to talk to you," Spencer said calmly. 

As much as he didn't want to, Michael let in his (ex?) best friend's boyfriend. "I guess, come on in. If you want a ham and cheese sandwich, I would decide against it. I'm not sure where the ham came from."

Spencer let out a chuckle. "It's fine. I already had lunch before I came here anyway."

Spencer took a seat on the couch and Michael took a seat on his recliner, munching on his sandwich, trying not to have a grimace on his face. The two were quiet for a few minutes, the only noise that was filling the room was Michael's quiet crunching. 

"So...what brings you here?" Michael asked after swallowing.

"I wanted to talk to you about Luke. Naturally, he told me about what happened between the two of you the other day and the whole thing about Ashton," Spencer began. Michael fought every urge in him to keep from rolling his eyes. "But I'm not here to lecture you about it. I'm here to encourage you and confess to you."

Michael looked at him, confused. "Confess? What the hell are you confessing to?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. What I want to encourage you to do is talk to Luke. He's your best friend and you can't just throw away a bond as strong as yours over something like this," Spencer continued. "He's been really out of it ever since that day. He's been acting sad and depressed and I can imagine that you're the same way. You're both suffering, so you might as well speak to each other."

"Did you ever consider my side of the story? Because just my explanation alone explains why I don't want to talk to him. I'm not going to get fucking lectured or placed under so much judgment. It's exhausting to me and I don't have time for it," Michael told him.

Spencer let out a huff. "Listen, I know exactly what you're saying. I've told Luke something that put him into an even more distressed state and now I'm in the exact same boat as you, if not worse. That's why I came to talk to you. You need to mend things with him because he needs someone. Right now, he doesn't have anyone."

"What the hell did you say to him?" Michael asked, getting confused and concerned as to what the hell Spencer was putting Luke through. 

Spencer took a deep breath, looking down at his hands. Michael wanted to urge Spencer to go on, but he didn't want to make Spencer mad at him too, but he was anxious to find out what the hell the guy did to his best friend. As much as he liked the guy, he would drop kick his ass for hurting Luke. It was a promise that Michael made since day one. 

"Do you remember that I kept asking Ashton if we knew each other?" Spencer asked finally, his brown eyes meeting Michael's green ones. Michael just nodded. "Well, it turns out that we did. After Luke had told me Ashton's actual occupation, that's when it all clicked."

"Where the fuck did you know him from?" Michael asked with a warning voice. He was mentally preparing himself to pounce on Spencer and beat the living shit out of him. 

"There's no need to get feisty about anything. Calm down," Spencer said, putting his hands up in defense. "Before Luke and I started dating - before I even knew Luke existed - I had signed up for an account on Heaven's Gates, which went by the name Secret Escapades back then. I had actually talked to Ashton through that site."

Michael felt his fists and jaw clench. He understood that it had happened a while ago, but it didn't matter. It was the fact that it happened. "And you fucked him."

Spencer's eyes widened to the size of saucers. " _No._  My first time was with Luke. I never met Ashton in person. We only talked on the phone or over message and he helped get me off. I was too scared to screw anyone or have anyone screw me for that matter. Plus, I wanted to wait until I knew I loved the person."

"And you told Luke this and now he's mad at you?" Michael questioned. 

"He's a bunch of emotions, so I expected him to have the dramatic reaction that he had. He's of the thinking that I knew that Ashton was an escort the whole time and just kept it a secret from him. The thing was that I didn't know that. It was so long ago, I didn't vividly remember what Ashton looked like. Not only that, but it's been so long that both of us have changed. We've both grown into our bodies," Spencer explained. 

"Why did you feel that you needed to even tell him that?" he wondered, curious as to why he didn't leave his past where it belonged. 

"As you know, I have a tendency to think out loud sometimes. This was one of those times. I blurted out that I knew that I knew him from somewhere and considering we were talking about an escort service, it wasn't appropriate for me to leave Luke in the dark. I kind of dug myself a hole there," Spencer explained. 

Michael stayed silent. He didn't know what to say. In a way, he was slightly disgusted in Ashton for have been in business with Spencer, but he remembered that it was just that: business. Ashton had also told him that he had started out as a horny teenager, so phone sex and texting with some kid was easy money and it would get him off. Michael couldn't be too mad anyway; it wasn't like he and Ashton ever dated or are dating. 

"Michael, I'm telling you this because I want you to come with me back to my place. I want you to fix the broken parts between you and Luke because I don't like seeing him the way he is. He's not his usual chirpy self. I want to see him smile again and I want to hear him tell me stories about your guys' friendship," Spencer pleaded. "He loves you more than anything Michael. Without you, he's half of a person. He's not operating like he should be. He needs you, Michael. I feel like he needs you more than he will ever need me."

Michael's eyes met Spencer's as the flattering words bounced around his mind. He never thought that Luke had thought that much of him. He knew that they were best friends, but sometimes Michael felt like that if he left, Luke wouldn't miss him as much as Spencer was telling him he was. He knew that he had to apologize to him for everything that happened. Michael was going to take full responsibility for his stupid actions because he knew that what he did was incredibly wrong. He shouldn't have lied to his best friend like that. Not only the lying, but he shouldn't have put Luke down so much and made him out to be a terrible best friend. Luke was anything but a terrible best friend. Michael wouldn't trade him for anything. Luke was his non-biological brother. 

"Okay," Michael huffed. "I'll go with you. It's about time that I do anyway."

A smile appeared on Spencer's face. "You know, you're going to feel much better once you two talk it out. I can just tell."

"You're just determined that Luke's going to just automatically forgive his big lying douche bag of a best friend, aren't you?" Michael pointed out, wanting to knock Spencer back into reality.

"Michael, it's going to take some time to gain his trust back, but if you two don't discuss what happened, then you're never going to get the time to do that. Trust me, you can't terminate your friendship over this because it just isn't worth it," Spencer reassured, looking at it so optimistically. 

\----

Michael let out a sigh once they arrived at Spencer and Luke's shared apartment. He didn't know how to act around the side of Luke that he was about to see. They had never been in a fight technically. Neither of them had lied to each other before for that matter. Michael had no idea what he was even going to say to Luke. He should've thought it out days ago, but he hadn't. He didn't expect to be talking to him and meeting with him so soon and just off of a whim. If Spencer expected Luke to be pleased when he showed up with Michael, he was going to have a rude awakening. 

Spencer opened the door, leading Michael inside. It had been forever since Michael had been in his best friend's apartment. He used to go there all of the time, but it diminished just after Spencer moved in. Michael didn't care, but he did miss going over to his friend's house. He didn't like spending money on lunch or having them come over all of the time. He wanted a change of scenery every so often, but he wasn't going to complain about that to Luke at that moment. 

"Luke, I'm home," Spencer called throughout the place. "Where are you, baby?"

Spencer walked through the apartment, leaving Michael standing awkwardly in the entryway. He could've followed, but since he already felt out of place by just standing at the door, he didn't want to make it more awkward by just tromping throughout the apartment when it was somewhat clear that he wasn't welcomed. 

Michael stood there for a few minutes, looking around at the familiar place. Everything looked basically the same since he had been there last, which wasn't at all surprising. Luke wasn't much of a remodel guy. Although he loved decorating rooms, he didn't like having to remodel them because he never had the furniture or decorations that were dreamed up in his head. So instead of taking a room to remodel it and getting frustrated, he just left it the way it was. It was easier on everyone that way. 

"Hey, he's in here," Spencer whisper-shouted to Michael from the hallway. 

Michael nodded, uncomfortably walking towards him. He gulped, preparing himself for what was about to happen. When he got to the room where Spencer was leaning against the doorway, Michael looked in. Luke was sitting on the small window seat that they had in their bedroom, looking out the window. To an outsider, it looked like all that Luke was just moping around. However, Michael remembered that he used to do that when he just wanted to think. Unlike most people in the universe, Luke liked to be left alone with his thoughts. He used to go there quite often to do just that. Michael didn't know if he had in recent months, but he was going to guess no since Spencer thought he was moping around.

"Luke, Michael's here," Spencer told him, his tone cautious. 

Luke turned his head towards the door, looking at Michael with a blank expression. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you would just call."

"Actually, I was scared to. Your hearty boyfriend drug me over here," Michael answered with a smile. 

"You were scared?" Luke asked, a judgmental look on his face. "I wasn't going to bite you or anything. You shouldn't be scared of your own best friend."

"Luke, I had every right. Do you think I knew what I was going to walk into? Spencer made it sound like you were on the floor crying all of the time and that you were angry at me but wanted to talk to me. I expected you to come running at me with a knife or something," Michael explained.

"I'm just going to get out of here," Spencer said, leaving the bedroom.

"Yeah, why don't you go fuck some more prostitutes and keep secrets from me some more," Luke called after him.

Michael stepped in farther, taking a seat on the bed. "Listen, he told me what he had told you and I swear that I didn't know a thing about it. I didn't tell him about it or anything like that."

"I know that you didn't know about it. All I know is that he kept that a secret from me. What if he has STD's and has spread them to me?" Luke stressed.

"Luke, he didn't do anything except phone sex, text, and video chat. The only STDs he would've caught are computer viruses. And it was before he even knew you. Don't stress about it, Luke. He wouldn't cheat on you because he loves you so much," Michael reassured him, explaining the situation. "You don't deserve to get hurt like that and he knows it."

"Then why did you hurt me?" Luke asked quietly. "You know you can trust me, Mike. I'm sorry if I made you feel pressured to find a boyfriend, but that didn't mean that I wanted you to find some random guy on the street and fuck him. I just want you to be happy. You could've told me that you were sick of it."

Michael was silent. "I know and I'm sorry. It got me in the end because Ashton and I don't even communicate anymore because of my stupidity."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, confused.

"He started to notice that I was starting to have feelings for him. You and Spencer brought it to his attention and yeah...he can't have a relationship with a paying client," Michael told him, feeling his heart break a little more.

Luke looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, Mike...wait, but if you're not a client anymore, you can have a relationship now, can't you?"

"The point is that he didn't have feelings for me," Michael clarified. 

"Bullshit. I've seen the way he looks at you. He may have been your fake boyfriend, but the way he was looking at you was totally real. He looked at you the same way you were looking at him," Luke told him.

Michael just shook his head. He didn't want to get his hopes up. "I don't think so. If he did, he wouldn't have blown me off like that. We would still be in contact."

"Did you ever think that he's never had a boyfriend because he's been in this business?" Luke asked.

"I'm sure he has. What does that have to do with anything?" Michael wondered. 

"It has everything to do with it. I wouldn't let my boyfriend go around and sell himself. Face it, Michael. He hasn't been in a relationship since he got employed for Heaven's Gates," Luke continued to tell him, but Michael refused to believe it. 

"I don't think so," Michael scoffed.

"Did it ever occur to you that he's scared?"

\----


	13. Telephone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't have to do with the story, but I have a purely One Direction Instagram account if you all want to follow it. A lot of people seem to enjoy it, so you should check it out. It's @crybaby.larrie :) Comment the smiley poop emoji on my recent for a spam of likes. :)

Luke's words were boomeranging around in Michael's head. He thought about all that he had said about Ashton feeling the same way about Michael, but he couldn't think of anything that would've drawn a flag. During their short time together, Ashton seemed to always have fun hanging out with Michael, but he figured that it was just because the kid was a social butterfly. There was also when Ashton had paid for Michael's night with Calum, though he didn't know if it was just because he felt like he owed his customers for not wanting to be the booty call or not.

Michael glanced over at his phone on Luke's counter. He wanted to take it and contact Ashton, ask him to meet up and they could talk, but he was too damn scared to and he knew why. He didn't want to have to deal with the rejection. He already dealt with it once and he wasn't over that yet. To put himself through another round of it was just stupidity on Michael's part.

"Is there a reason you're sitting there, looking at your phone like it's the last bag of Cheetos?" Luke asked from behind Michael, referring his addiction to the American snack.

Michael turned around to see Luke and Spencer walking into the room. Michael had given them time to talk to each other and get everything straight. Considering that Spencer wasn't rushing to pack up his things or Luke wasn't fuming, Michael couldn't help but assume that it went alright. 

"You need to talk to him, Mike," Luke said, putting his hands on Michael's shoulders. 

"I don't want to know what he's going to say," Michael admitted quietly.

"Just ask if you can meet up. It's not something that you're going to want to do over the phone. At least, I wouldn't want to do that," Luke urged. 

Michael thought about it. He knew that it was the right thing to do and it was killing him that the two left each other's lives that way. With a deep breath and no second thoughts, Michael grabbed his phone and went into his contacts, finding Ashton's number. He decided that calling would sound more formal and would help Ashton realize that he didn't have any intentions other than to meet up somewhere and talk to him. You couldn't tell that through text messages.

He hit tapped the call icon. His breath caught in his throat and he shook a little as he put the cell phone to his ear. He was breathing nervously and he hoped that it wasn't going to be audible when Ashton were to answer the phone. 

"You can do it," Luke whispered in his unoccupied ear. 

There was only five rings until Ashton picked up, but it felt like Michael had been sitting there for hours, days even. The sound of his voice instantly made Michael's heart flutter. He was in deep. 

_"Hello?"_

"H-Hey, Ashton. It's Michael Clifford," Michael greeted, trying to sound like he wasn't at all nervous for what was happening. 

_"Why do you still have my phone number? Michael, our business deals are over. I wasn't kidding,"_ Ashton sighed, the words cutting into Michael.

"I know. I wasn't calling for any services. Um, I guess, I was just - "

_"Then what are you calling for? Once I'm finished with a client, I normally don't have any contact with them ever again. I refuse to,"_ Ashton informed him. Michael felt the fictitious dagger that Ashton was holding against his heart pierce the skin.

"Oh, um, I'm s-sorry," Michael apologized, not being able to help but sound upset. 

There was a deep breath on the other end of the line. _"I'm sorry. What was it that you called for?"_

"N-Nothing. It's not a big deal. I'm sorry to have bothered you," Michael's shaky voice made out. He was on the verge of bawling. Before Ashton could say anymore, Michael took the phone from his ear and ended the call. 

He got up from his place and walked out of the kitchen area towards the bathroom. All Michael wanted was to sit in a corner and cry. What he expected and didn't want to happen, happened. Rejection was never an easy thing for Michael. He never knew the proper way to handle it. Not only that, but Michael never really dated anyone before because he was too scared or too shy. He didn't have any experience with rejection and never necessarily learned how to cope with it. 

As Michael walked out of the kitchen, he had to walk through the living room where Spencer and Luke were happily chatting. Of course, Luke noticed that he was off the phone. Luke noticed everything Michael did. 

"That was quick. You get the date?" Luke asked. 

Michael just shook his head and kept walking. He feared that if he talked, he would burst out into tears. 

"Michael, what happened?" Luke asked, sounding more concerned. 

He just ignored him and went into the bathroom. It was as if the locking of the door was the key that unlocked the dam in Michael's eyes. He shrunk down against the back of the door, silently crying into his hands. He felt so childish and dramatic for crying and throwing a fit. Normal people wouldn't shed a tear over such a thing. Only pathetic lowlifes would and that was exactly what he felt like he was. 

There was a knock on the door, startling him to his feet. With a sniff of his nose and clearing of his throat, Michael took a deep breath. "What?" 

"Mikey, is everything okay?" Luke asked softly through the thick door.

"Fine. I had to go to the bathroom," Michael lied with a hoarse voice as he turned the sink on to make it sound legit. 

"That's bullshit. I know that something happened. Can you just open the door?" he pleaded, not about to buy any excuse that Michael fed him.

Michael gave up and opened the door, looking at Luke without an expression. Luke's face immediately fell and his arms wrapped around Michael's shoulders in a tight hug. Michael hugged him back, feeling the tears fall down his face even more so. When he broke apart, he felt his wet cheeks and Luke just looked at him with so much sympathy.

"What happened, Michael? It must have been bad because you barely ever cry over someone," Luke asked. 

"What do you think happened? Do you think that he just jumped at the opportunity?" Michael sassed. 

"No, I know he didn't say that just by looking at you. What did he say to you, Michael?" Luke pressed, wanting to get a genuine answer out of him. 

"He said that he doesn't talk to clients after he's done with them. He didn't want anything to do with me and I wasn't going to listen to him tell me to lose his number or explain myself completely, only for him to tell me to leave him alone and never contact him or he would call the police or something to that effect," Michael explained with an edge to his voice. "I shouldn't have listened to you. I knew better than to believe you. Ashton would never waste his time on me if it was voluntary." 

Luke didn't know how to respond and Michael could clearly see that he wasn't going to. So, instead of waiting for Luke to gush and give him this cringey speech about him being a beautiful person and all of that bullshit. If he wanted to listen to that, he would look up self-esteem videos on Youtube. But he wasn't about to do that. He already accepted the fact that he wasn't good enough to be anyone's boyfriend. Why would he try to convince himself of something that wasn't real? 

He pushed passed his best friend and just beelined out of the apartment without saying goodbye to the two other boys. He just wanted to be alone and wallow in his own pity for a couple of hours. 

\----

Michael woke up to extreme wrapping on his front door. He looked over at his clock, realizing that it was almost midnight and he had been asleep for nearly three and a half hours. As he crawled off of his couch, the obnoxious knocking continued. He was pretty sure that Barack Obama could hear it all the way in Washington D.C. - that's how loud it was. 

He looked through the peephole, seeing that Luke was standing outside. Michael just rolled his eyes, unamused with the blonde. He didn't want to talk to him or listen to him lecture about how he deserved someone that was better than Ashton. Because although that may have been true, Michael didn't want someone other than Ashton. 

The knocking stopped and Michael looked through the peephole again, hoping that the kid just decided to leave, but was disappointed when he saw him standing there, trying to look into the peephole. Michael opened the door, not undoing the chain because he wasn't about to let him in.

"What do you want?" Michael grumbled, his voice deep and groggy.

"You forgot your phone at my place and I wanted to drop it off before you went into cardiac arrest in the morning," Luke told him, holding the black covered iPhone out. 

Michael grabbed it through the door, not even aware that he had left it there. "Thanks."

"You also got a call, just to let you know. I didn't answer it because I knew that would be disrespectful, so don't worry about it," he informed.

"Who was it?" Michael asked, knowing that Luke knew who it was.

"I don't know actually. I didn't look," Luke said. "Sorry that I was late. I should be getting back before Spencer notices that I left. G'night, Michael."

"Oh, okay. Night, Luke. Talk to you tomorrow," Michael told him before closing the door. 

He walked back through his house and into the bedroom, figuring that he might as well just go to bed since it was late and he was just tired, both mentally and physically. He stripped out of his normal clothes and sat down on his bed in just in his boxers, grabbing his phone from where he set it on the nightstand. He looked at his notifications - two from Pewdiepie on Twitter and then his phone call...from Ashton. It had only happened twenty minutes ago and Michael was more than tempted to call him back, but knew that it was probably worthless to do so. It wasn't going to end up being a call that he wanted to make because it wasn't going to end up the way he wanted. 

So, instead of calling his love interest back, he unlocked the phone and went to his voicemail, seeing that he had one. He pressed the phone to his ear, scared of what it was going to be. 

_"Hey, Michael. I just wanted to apologize for the way I responded when you had called. I shouldn't have acted that way and just assumed that you were one of those clingy clients that wouldn't take no for an answer because it was obvious that you didn't call for that. So, if you want, you can call or message me back when you get this. I understand if you don't because I didn't treat you fairly. Anyway, have a good night and sleep well. Hope to talk to you soon."_

The message ended with the robot woman's voice telling him that there wasn't anymore messages in his inbox. He hung up the phone, staring down at the screen. There was sincerity in Ashton's voice and Michael would've liked to believe that he wouldn't play him like that. As much as he wanted to call him back in that instant, he refrained and decided that he would sleep on it, see if he felt the same way in the morning and then call him.

It was the smart decision to do. He didn't want to be rash and put himself through more heartache.

\----


	14. No Regerts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Yes, I know "regrets" is spelled as "regerts". It's intentional.))

"You need to call him, Michael. Might I remind you that you're the one that wants to talk to him so badly," Luke coached him. "You were the one that reached out to him and now you just want to leave him hanging? I'm confused by you."

"He didn't want to talk to me and he didn't want anything to do with me the first time around. That answers any questions I have about forming a relationship with him. The only reason that he sent me that message was because he felt guilty for snapping at me like that. That's all. He doesn't have any feelings for me nor will he ever," Michael told him. 

"You don't know that, Michael. Play the voicemail for me again. I'll point it out to you," Luke told him, resting his elbows on the table. 

Michael huffed and unlocked his phone, going into his voicemail. Once he got to Ashton's call, he switched it to speaker mode and the message started. 

"Hey, Michael. I just wanted to apologize for the way I responded when you had called. I shouldn't have acted that way and just assumed that you were one of those clingy clients that wouldn't take no for an answer because it was obvious that you didn't call for that. So, if you want, you can call or message me back when you get this. I understand if you don't because I didn't treat you fairly. Anyway, have a good night and sleep well. Hope to talk to you soon."

"If he truly hated or didn't want anything more to do with you, he wouldn't have called you back to see what you wanted. He also wouldn't have said that he wanted to talk to you," Luke told him. "He cares for you on some level to call like that. There's no reason that he would want to hear what you needed if he didn't. For fuck's sake, Michael, call him the fuck back!" 

Michael avoided eye contact with Luke because he knew that he was right. The real truth was that he was just scared. He didn't want to know what Ashton was going to say because Michael knew that Ashton didn't feel the same way as Michael did about him. It was sad that he wasn't even wanting to give it a chance, but that was because he knew the outcome, so why put himself through the heartache?

"I should get going," Michael muttered, pushing his chair out from underneath him to get up. 

"No, you're not leaving until you call Ashton back," Luke demanded, standing up right along with Michael, looking as if he was ready to pounce in order to stop him. 

Michael stiffened, not appreciating how Luke was ordering him around. He felt himself get angry and then unleashed. "Why should I? To make you happy? To satisfy your needs? I didn't know you were the one that had feelings for him. Do you ever think about anyone but yourself or Spencer? Or is that outside of your brain capacity? Maybe I'm not calling him back because I already know the answer to the potential question. Maybe I'm not doing it because I don't want to put myself through more rejection and heartache. I know you don't know what that feels like, so let me give you a mental picture: it hurts like fucking hell and I don't know why anyone would voluntarily put themselves through it if they know the outcome and I don't fucking understand why anyone's supposed best friend would urge them to get hurt. I know that I sure as hell wouldn't. I actually value my friends' feelings and think about them instead of being so fucking self centered."

"Are you serious, Mike? I'm encouraging you to do this because this is what you want. I'm trying to help you get a boyfriend because if you don't end up with Ashton, you'll go back to whining about how nobody likes you or wants to be in a relationship with you. I also am doing it because I feel like Ashton is the perfect guy for you. You think that I don't know shit about your feelings or what Ashton feels and you think that I'm just assuming this, but I'm not. You two convinced me that you were a couple and it wasn't because of the words you said; it was because of the little things that people do when they have a major crush on someone. Not only did you do it, but Ashton was doing it as well. So, yeah, go ahead, call me a self-centered piece of shit all you want, but just keep in the back of your thick skull that I wouldn't force my bestest friend into a relationship if I didn't think that person was right for them. As much as you want to deny it, I actually do care and I am looking out for you," Luke roared back.

Michael opened his mouth to say something, but he was just rendered speechless. He didn't know how to respond to that. He took a deep breath and looked away from the blue eyed blonde standing across from him. He wanted to leave, but he felt guilty doing so. The next few minutes were spent in an awkward silence. Both boys sat down, Micheal looking elsewhere and Luke twiddling his thumbs. 

"I don't want to do this, Luke," Michael finally mumbled out.

"Why? All you're doing is calling him and asking him to hang out. It's not like you're calling to tell him that you're pregnant," Luke pointed out. 

"I know, but it's just the idea that once I get myself in the hole, I can't get out. Like, there's no turning back if he says yes. At least, not without looking like a total jackass," Michael told him, looking up at him as he bit his bottom lip.

Luke was quiet for a minute and then sat up in his chair. "I understand that, but you can do it. As I said, I wouldn't encourage you to do something if I didn't have a good feeling about it. I get you don't want to put yourself through heartbreak, but do you want to spend the rest of your life wondering what could've been?"

The kid had a point. The last thing that Michael wanted to do was put himself through pain, but he knew that if he didn't find out, he would end up wondering what would've happened if he and Ashton would've been in a relationship and he would regret not telling him how he felt for the rest of his life. Michael didn't want to be eighty years old, single, and wishing that he would've just told Ashton. As much as he hated to admit it, it was worth risking his heart. Ashton was worth it. 

"You're right," Michael blurted. "I have to do it."

Luke got a smile on his face just then and put a comforting hand on Michael's arm. "I believe in you, Mikey. Everything will be okay."

With that, Luke left Michael alone with his phone. He just stared at it for a minute or two, trying to find a solid reason to keep from calling him, but couldn't come up with any. Finally, he dialed the number and hit the green call icon, gulping and taking deep breaths while the dial tone sounded in his ear. 

"Hello?" Ashton answered, his voice sounding more hoarse than usual.

"H-Hey, Ashton. It's Michael. I'm returning your call," Michael stammered out, hoping the nerves weren't evident in his voice, but knew that they most likely were, no matter how hard he tried to cover them up.

"Oh, hey, Michael. I didn't think you would call me back. I wanted to apologize for the way that I acted out on you yesterday. I should've known better," Ashton apologized. 

Michael caught himself giving a small smile at the apology, imagining Ashton blushing as he said the words. "It's fine. I understand why you did. I would've probably done the same."

"Please, Michael. No, you wouldn't have. You don't need to try and make me feel better about it," Ashton told him with a slight laugh to his voice.

"You're right, I wouldn't," Michael laughed.

"So, what was it that you were calling for anyway?" he wondered.

Michael's smile instantly fell and he closed his eyes, taking a deep inhale in. "I was just wondering, erm, if you wanted to meet up sometime? Hang out?"

"Oh, um, hang out?" Ashton repeated, sounding like Michael was an idiot for even conjuring up the idea.

"Yeah..." Michael trailed. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I just, um, thought that it would be cool if we could at least be friends without all the business in it."

The other end of the line was silent for what felt like millenniums. He didn't know what Ashton was thinking. That's what Michael hated about phone calls, especially ones like this. He couldn't see the person's face and read their expression like he normally would. It made Michael feel that much more vulnerable. 

"Um, I guess that would be fine. Does tonight work?" Ashton finally spoke.

Michael's eyes shot open and his mouth was agape, not believing what he had heard. "Y-Yeah! Tonight is absolutely perfect! Meet me at my place and we can go from there?" 

"That sounds alright. I'll see you around six o'clock then. Thanks for calling, Michael."

The line went dead after Michael bid him an overjoyed goodbye. He nearly jumped out of his chair as he rushed around to find his best friend to tell him the good news. Luke was in the kitchen, pouring some Fritos into a mixing bowl. He noticed Michael right away and a smile appeared on his face instantly. 

"I'm guessing it's a go?" Luke asked, knowing that the answer was going to be yes.

"Yes! Tonight at six!" Michael said excitedly. He grabbed Luke's shoulders and the two spun around in a circle like a couple of teenage girls in happiness for the recent events. 

"What did I tell you? I knew that he would agree to go," Luke smiled. 

"Yeah, but do you have any idea what he's going to say when I tell him that I have feelings for him? He's probably going to reject the shit out of me," Michael said, his happiness instantly disappearing. 

"Bullshit. If he rejects you, I'm going to find him and shove my foot right up his happy ass because nobody has the right to hurt my best friend like that," Luke told him, his protective side switching on. 

"I didn't think a bottom had a daddy side," Michael pointed out with a cheeky smile. 

"It doesn't come out often," Luke chuckled. "Anyway, back to Ashton. You've got a few things going for you: one - you are hot as fuck and he knows it. Two - he already knows how you are in bed and considering you were "together" for so long, I'm guessing that he enjoyed it."

"Luke!" Michael blushed, slapping his best friends arm quickly. 

"What? It's true!" Luke chuckled. "Now, bring me to your abode so we can make you look like his Heaven's Gates."


	15. Deja Vu

Michael was sitting on his couch, his legs shaking as he kept glancing down at the watch he barely ever wore. The time was ticking by slower than it ever had before and Michael didn't appreciate it, but at the same time he did. A part of him wanted to just have six o'clock hurry up and arrive because he wanted to see Ashton, but the other part of him was dreading it. He didn't want to talk to him about his strong feelings that he had for him, but he knew that it would be a regret if he wouldn't do it. As Luke said: "you don't know if you don't try." 

It was about five minutes to six and he was hoping that Ashton would decide to be there early instead of being there right on the dot or later. The anxiety was killing Michael. The problem he was having was deciding when he would bring it up. He wanted to tell him that he liked him, but that wasn't something that just came up in conversation. There wasn't really anything that could lead into it without causing suspicion. It wasn't like he could just blurt it out. Well, he could, but he wasn't that kind of person.

Before Michael could stress anymore, there was a subtle knocking on the door, causing the butterfly in his stomach to multiply into an entire herd. He got up, his legs shaking, and opened the door to reveal a very stunning Ashton. It took all the strength that Michael had not to let his jaw fall onto the floor. 

"Hey, Michael," Ashton said with an innocent smile - something that looked silly with the badass ensemble. 

"H-hey, Ashton. You look nice," Michael complimented, trying to sound as casual as he could, but knew that he was failing epically.

"Thanks. I just got this jacket the other day. I've been wanting it for ages and it finally went on sale to where I could afford it," he smiled, proud of the article of clothing. 

"Well, it looks great. Come on in," Michael said, gesturing the boy in. 

"So, what are we going to be doing tonight?" Ashton asked, leaning on Michael's couch. 

"Um, I was thinking we could go get something to eat and then see what happens after that?" Michael suggested.

"That would be fine with me," Ashton agreed.

"Great," Michael smiled. "Do you want a bottle of water or anything before we get going?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you though," Ashton declined.

It felt weird to have Ashton in his apartment and they weren't going to do anything. Not only that, but there was an obvious tension in the room and Ashton was acting weird. He was more distant than he used to be with Michael. It made Michael even more nervous and scared about telling him about his feelings. If there was that tension now, it would be even worse when the truth was out and Michael didn't want that. 

"Any ideas of where you want to go?" Michael asked.

"There's this place not too far from my apartment that looks pretty good," Ashton suggested.

Michael grabbed his wallet from the shelf, looking to make sure he had enough money to pay for both his and Ashton's meals, but was cut off by Ashton. "Don't worry about it. I'll pay." 

"Are you sure? I was the one who asked you to hang out tonight," Michael pointed out. 

"Yes, I'm sure. I was the one who blew up on you and I didn't have a right to do that," Ashton insisted. "Really, Michael. Just let me buy. You can get the check next time."

Michael finally gave in once he heard the last sentence. It made his heart feel warm, even though he didn't know if there would be a next time after this one. He was hoping that there would be. 

Even under the circumstances, Michael didn't like when people paid for him. It made him feel like a mooch and he didn't like that feeling. As soon as he would get access to the amount of money, he would try to pay the person back because it shouldn't be there responsibility to pay for Michael. He was fully capable of taking care of himself and paying for his own things. It just make him feel like a free loader, even if the person was doing it out of the goodness of their heart. 

The two boys left Michael's apartment and they walked along the sidewalk in the direction of the restaurant. Conversation was rare and they just walked alongside each other. At first it was an awkward silence, but it quickly turned into a comfortable one. Michael got lost in his thoughts, thinking about how he had never been to Ashton's house and how he didn't really know Ashton as well as he thought he did. He knew his personality and why he got into the escort world, but that was about it. He didn't know his favorite color or his favorite food or his lucky number. The thought left Michael kind of sad, just giving him more reason to refrain from telling Ashton anything. That was when Luke's voice popped into his mind.

Think positively. Don't try and talk yourself out of it.

It was true. He couldn't do that if he wanted a future with Ashton. He twisted his negative thoughts into the positive ones - he would get to know all of those things about him. He would know Ashton's story and he would come to love it. It sounded so easy, so beautiful, so worth it. If he would just get over his nerves and let everything just happen, it would work out. 

\----

"So, how do you like it?" Ashton wondered as Michael was on his third bite of the wonderful burger.

"It's absolutely amazing," Michael answered once he swallowed. 

"I never fail to please," Ashton answered with a smirk as he popped a fry in his mouth. "So, I know this is a dumb question, but why did you suddenly want to hang out with me?"

Just like that, Michael quit chewing and set down his burger as he looked up into Ashton's eyes. That wasn't how the truth was supposed to come out and he didn't know how to handle it. He was at a standstill. He swallowed and took a sip of his ice water, making it look like he just needed to finish his bite before he began talking, even if the reality was that he didn't know what the hell he was going to say to him. 

"I just...I don't know I wanted to talk to you. We kind of left on bad terms," Michael bullshitted. He mentally cringed at himself. 

Looking at Ashton, he could tell that he wasn't buying his bullshit. "Oh...really?"

Michael took a deep breath - it was make it or break it. "No. I'll be honest with you. There was something that I wanted to talk to you about and I know that you're probably going to be completely against it, but I'm hoping the opposite because that would be fucking awesome."

Michael looked up from his rambling to see Ashton looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Okay...it sounds rather important. Don't assume I'd be against it. You don't know. Tell me what's going on."

With a quick drink from his water, Michael quickly prepared himself for what he was about to say and for the extreme rejection that he was about to face. "I like you, Ashton. I like you a lot. I have these feelings for you that I know that I'm not supposed to have and they didn't really come about until Luke pointed them out. I know that it's not supposed to be that way, but hear me out. We barely know each other, despite fucking, but I think we could get to know each other and it would be beautiful and we could fall in love and be the cutest couple ever, like, even cuter than Luke and Spencer, and then we'd get married and then we'd have a family and then we would spend Christmases with our families and make cookies and wear sweaters and cuddle on cold nights and hug and kiss and just be cute and I feel like that would be the most amazing thing in the wor-"

"Michael, would you shut the fuck up?" Ashton interrupted. 

"That was certainly not the response I was expecting," Michael muttered, looking at Ashton innocently, as if he didn't just ramble about his dreams about their relationship - if they ever had one. 

Ashton looked away from Michael's eyes and looked around the table awkwardly, running his hand through his hair like he was frustrated. "I think - I think that I should go."

"No, Ashton, please just...just wait," Michael begged as Ashton set down his fork and started getting out of his chair. "Let me explain myself."

Ashton looked at Michael sternly. "No, Michael. I'm not interested in having a relationship with you. I don't know how many times I have to say that. I can't see you anymore or else I will lose my job. I shouldn't have even done this. Never contact me again."

With that, Ashton stormed out of the restaurant without looking back. Michael stood there, feeling that familiar feeling. There were onlookers staring at him, wondering what had happened. He just stood there, looking at the door with a heartbroken expression, as if Ashton would come back through the door and say that he was kidding, but Michael knew that wasn't going to happen. That was a far cry. 

Michael blinked and looked down at his feet, feeling humiliated and ashamed. He turned to the table, downing the rest of his water and walked slowly towards the front of the restaurant to pay the bill. 

As cliche as it was, it was pouring down rain when Michael walked outside. Thunder was rumbling in the distance. It was basically Mother Nature expressing to the entire city what Michael was feeling. He started walking in the direction of his apartment, not even caring that he was getting soaked underneath the raindrops. He had bigger problems than getting wet and he didn't want to waste the money on getting a cab or on the bus. It served him right for even considering that Ashton would feel the same way about him as he did Ashton. 

Michael passed the street that Luke's apartment was on and he looked at it, debating whether or not he should take shelter there until it cleared up, but he knew that it was probably a stupid idea considering that Luke would pepper him with questions about how it went. Michael was obviously not in the mood to discuss it with Luke. He didn't want his sympathy nor did he want to talk. He didn't need Luke to try and give him some kind of encouraging pep talk, saying that Ashton would come around. As much as Michael would love for his dream to come true, it wasn't.

He was going to have to accept it for what it was: a big mistake. 

\----


	16. It's My Life

"Yo, Michael, you dead?" 

Michael peeled open his eyes, the bright sunshine causing him to squint. It had been four days since he left the house, let alone the bed. His plans weren't about to change either. He figured that the voice was just in his dream, so he squeezed his eyes shut in hopes of going back to sleep. That way he wouldn't have to deal with life or the harshness of it. 

"Michael, where the hell are you?!" 

It was then that he knew that it wasn't a dream and that someone was in his apartment - that someone being Luke. Mentally, he groaned, not wanting to talk to anyone. He had forgotten that he had given Luke the spare key in case of an emergency. With all his might, Michael hoped that Luke would just leave without checking his bedroom. 

But all hope was lost when the doorknob jiggled and opened. Michael quickly shut his eyes, hoping that the kid would decide to leave him be instead of waking him up, but knew that that was holding out too much hope when his shoulder started to shake. Some days, he regrets giving Luke that spare.

"Rise and shine, dip shit," Luke said as the blonde ripped the cozy comforter from Michael's body. Michael let out a groan, wishing that he had enough energy in him to be able to kick the shit out of the guy. "Don't give me that tone. It's nearly two in the afternoon. Get your lazy ass out of bed."

"Didn't sleep last night," Michael slurred tiredly, hoping that Luke would actually have a heart and leave him alone. 

"How come I am finding that hard to believe?" Luke snorted, turning away from the window with his hands placed on his hips. "You've been ignoring me for the past five days and I'm pretty sure that you haven't left the house, let alone your bed, in that amount of time, so now's when you need to get your petty ass up and stop moping." 

Luke sounded angry and Michael wasn't really wanting to protest to a miffed Luke. If anything, he would do what the boy told him, just so he could stay on his good side and avoid getting his head bit off of his spinal cord. 

Slowly, Michael rolled out of the bed with Luke watching him like a disappointed mother. His mum, Karen, didn't have to worry about Michael not taking care of himself. Luke would do the job for her. As much as it was nice sometimes, it was also annoying. Michael lived on his own to get away from being treated like a child. He didn't need Luke to barge in on him like that and act all Mama Bear on him. 

"Can you stop watching me like I'm in prison?" Michael growled in a low morning voice. "Not to mention, it makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm in my underwear, God dammit."

Luke turned away, rolling his eyes. Michael stumbled to his closet and threw on the first t-shirt and pair of jeans that he saw. He looked in the mirror at himself, cringing at his appearance. He figured he looked like hell, but he didn't think he looked like a character straight from The Walking Dead until he saw his reflection. 

"Okay, you can turn around." 

Luke turned around and walked out of the room, signaling for Michael to follow. Michael did, feeling like he was a teenager again. While Luke went into the kitchen to make coffee, Michael took his spot on one of the bar stools and began fiddling with his fingers, trying not to think. That's what always got him into trouble. That's why he didn't leave his house for four days. 

"So, are you going to tell me why you've been ignoring my calls and texts for the past five days?" Luke asked, sounding like a disappointed mum. It made Michael wonder if the blonde was the bottom in his relationship, despite Luke bragging about how he was a top. 

"I've been busy. Lost track of time, I guess," Michael shrugged. He didn't want to think about the A word. That's what caused him to close off in the first place. 

"Oh, really? Do tell me what's kept you so busy. It's been a while since I've talked to you, so I don't know what's going on with my little Mikey," the blonde said, the sarcasm strong in his tone. 

"I've just been doing things. I've been preoccupied and all that happy shit. Nothing to get all worried about. The days just ran together and I didn't check my phone," Michael partly lied. 

"Is that so? Well, it just seems fishy to me because the last time I talked to you, you were going to dinner with Ashton and after that you just went M.I.A. I thought you would've called me directly after. But anyway, how was it? Did it go exactly as you hoped? Better maybe?" Luke quizzed. Michael could tell that he already knew what the answer was and that was just his way of getting Michael to tell him the truth. 

"It went fine," Michael struggled to get out, hoping that the shakiness of his voice wasn't apparent. 

"Was it? What did you guys do? Did he stay over? Is that who kept you busy this whole time? I bet you were too busy being the most perfect couple this side of Sydney," Luke pressed.

"Would you fucking stop!?" Michael snapped, annoyed with how Luke was pressing him to his limits. 

"Stop what? Getting you to tell me the God damn truth? I don't think so," he retorted. "You act like I'm naive, Mike. I'm not. I know damn well that your little date with Ashton didn't go the way you wanted to because you would've shown up at my house or contacted me in some way, squealing like a little fucking school girl because the boy of your dreams finally decided that he was in love with you. I'm not an idiot, so don't give me the bullshit that you've been busy sucking his dick when you've been wallowing in your own tears for the entire week."

Michael didn't say anything and just glared at Luke. He wanted to scream at him and demand him to get out, but he resisted. Listening to Luke tell him what a pathetic life he was living because he was rejected was not something that he wanted to listen to. 

"When are you going to realize that sitting around and waiting for Ashton to come after you isn't going to happen? If you want it to work, you have to go after him. Swimming in your tears is what pussies d-"

"God dammit, Luke. You don't get it!" Michael snapped. 

Luke looked at him with bewildered eyes, not sure of what to respond with. "Excuse me?" 

"You think you know what you're doing but you fucking don't. You aren't there when he says that he isn't interested and is disgusted when I even bring up the fact. That's what you don't fucking get. You think that if I keep annoying him about it that he's going to suddenly fall hopelessly fall in love with me. It's fucking not. Ashton is happy fucking guys for money, so let him do it," Michael yelled angrily, tired of Luke acting like he knew everything.

The blonde didn't say anything and just stood there as if he were frozen. Michael didn't break his blurred glare, both feeling guilty and satisfied with himself. He was done letting Luke think that he could put down Michael for choosing to live his life a certain way or acting like he knew exactly what was going on in Michael's love life. 

Luke didn't say anymore and just turned, grabbing his phone from the counter and left the apartment. Michael watched him walk out, not about to stop the kid from leaving. All he wanted was to be left alone and not bothered by anyone that wouldn't let him live, even if that meant that he was drowning in his own heartbreak. That's what he wanted to do and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. 

\----

magixman331: send me a pic bb ;)

Distorted.MGC: *sends pic*

magixman331: pls tell me ur the dog...

Distorted.MGC: ╭∩╮(︶︿︶)╭∩╮

Michael exited the tab, annoyed with the constant rejection and declaring that he's ugly. He was trying to move on from Ashton, but the constant verbal abuse from other men were not making him feel any better. At least Ashton thought he was attractive enough to fuck. Or did he? 

The thought made Michael get up from the table and get a beer from the refrigerator. He wasn't about to sit there without any type of alcohol in his body and think about the ugly truth - literally. It nearly brought him to tears, but he wouldn't let the tears escape his eyes. He was going to make himself suffer because that's how he likes to torture himself. 

Interrupting his thoughts, there was a quiet but rapid knocking on his front door. He growled, not wanting any visitors unless they were Zac Efron or Zayn Malik. Dragging his feet, Michael went over to the door, lazily opening it, his eyes widening in surprise instantly. 

"Ashton?"

\---


	17. Weeping Angel

"Um, hi, Michael," Ashton stammered, looking anywhere but in Michael's eyes.

"W-what are you doing here?" Michael asked, trying to make out whether or not it was a dream. "I thought you didn't want to talk to me ever again."

Ashton's eyes fell to the ground. "I know I said that I didn't, but I needed somewhere to go and someone to talk to and you were the first person that I thought of."

Michael didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to be a jackass and just lock him out in the hallway because of the other day's incident, but the other part of him - the majority of him - wasn't going to let the poor guy rot outside. He moved out of the way and opened the door wider so his crush could walk through the doors. 

Ashton didn't say anything as he slowly walked in, stopping when he got to a certain point because he was unsure of where Michael was going to be. Michael locked the door and looked at the hazel eyed man that stood before him.

"You can have a seat at the table. I was just going to make some mac n'cheese," Michael told him timidly. "Want something to drink?" 

"No, I'm fine."

The boy walked over and took a seat next to where Michael's open laptop was. He panicked about the dating website still being open, but remembered that he had exited out after that douche bag had insulted him. That also made him think about Ashton and how he might have thought the same things as the majority of the men on those websites had. There was a sharp pain in his chest and he looked out to where Ashton was looking around the apartment nervously, as if he had never been there before. 

Michael looked away as he got out the items he needed in order to make the pasta. As he poured the noodles into the pot, he contemplated calling Luke. He wasn't sure if he should even have let the guy in considering how they had left things. Michael didn't know how he could, but he didn't want to risk the man's job. According to all of the things that Ashton had told him, his job was the only thing that he really had and Michael didn't want to be the cause of him getting fired. 

While he waited for the noodles to heat, he grabbed his phone from the counter. He quickly dialed Luke's number and waited impatiently while the dial tone filled his ear drums. Considering that Michael had kicked Luke out that morning, he didn't expect an answer, but was slightly surprised when he did.

"So now you miss me and wish that you didn't kick me out this morning?" Luke's sarcasm rang through the handheld device.

"Listen, I'm sorry about that. I need your help," Michael whispered quickly.

"Of course you do. What else would you need me for?" 

Michael's eyes rolled by instinct. "Luke, I'm serious. I don't know what to do and you're the only person I can think of that would."

"Fine. What do you want?" he huffed, trying to make it seem as though he was irritated with Michael.

"Ashton is here and I don't know what to do," Michael told him, making sure his voice was hushed enough so Ashton wouldn't hear him.

"Well, you talk to him and treat him like a normal visitor? Have you never had company before?" Luke sassed. 

"He just showed up at my door. He looks kind of sad? I don't know what I should do," Michael continued.

"Why did you even call me on this? Just treat him normally. Treat him as a normal guest and if he tells you why he's there, then he does. Don't pressure him or anything. You know what to do," Luke told him, sounding both annoyed and encouraging. 

Michael bid him goodbye and nonchalantly hung up, shoving the phone into his pocket. He looked out at Ashton, seeing that the boy was just twiddling his thumbs. He didn't know what to say considering the last time they saw each other didn't end as planned. It wasn't like Michael was going to bring that up since that was probably the furthest thing from Ashton's mind. 

Once the noodles were finished, Michael equally distributed them into two bowls, even if he wasn't positive if Ashton wanted any. Chances were that he did, but he would just claim that he wasn't hungry. Michael didn't care though. He cared about Ashton and he was going to make sure that the boy was well cared for. 

"I brought you some mac n' cheese," Michael said cautiously as he placed the bowl in front of the boy. 

"Oh, thanks," Ashton said with a slight smile. 

Michael sat across from him, not sure of what to say, so he just ate his food. He casually glanced at Ashton every once in a while, hoping that the boy would say something so Michael wouldn't have to initiate conversation, but he had a feeling that wasn't going to be the case. After about ten minutes of sitting in complete awkward silence, Michael spoke up.

"I don't mean to sound like a complete douche bag, but what are you doing here?" Michael asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

Ashton quit eating and brought his twinkling hazel eyes up to Michael's green ones. "Um, well, I wanted to talk to you about a few things, including the other night."

Michael swallowed the lump in his stomach. "Okay..." 

Ashton put his spoon down and brought his hands beneath the table. He looked back at Michael with an almost embarrassed expression. "I've been dismissed from my position at Heaven's Gate."

Michael's eyes widened. "What? Why? It wasn't my fault...was it?" 

Ashton quickly shook his head. "No, it wasn't your fault at all. It was completely my fault. I had gotten a new client and I was meeting him and accidentally flipped out at him."

"What do you mean?" the green eyed boy asked curiously.

"I mean that I verbally assaulted him and he reported me to my boss," Ashton explained. 

"I'm sorry, Ashton. Is there any way that you can get your job back?" Michael asked, not enjoying the idea that he was with another man, but knew that it was just how he made money. "I know how much you loved and depended on that job."

"I doubt it," Ashton shook his head as he looked down at the table top. "I'm sorry about the other night as well. I was an asshole to you and I'm sorry. I just...I felt duped. Like, I should've known that was what you wanted to meet me for, but I also should've responded differently." 

Michael didn't know how to respond because he wasn't about to tell Ashton that it was okay that he had treated him like shit, but he didn't want to be dramatic about it either. Averting Ashton's gaze, he pretended to pick at his bracelets. 

"You don't have to accept my apology or anything because I don't blame you if you don't. I just wanted to apologize to you," Ashton continued. "If you want, I can leave." 

Michael's head snapped up. "No, you don't have to go, Ashton. I just don't know what to say."

Ashton gave him a half-hearted smile. "It's okay, I understand. I really do. I've come to think of you as a really good friend and I don't want to lose you. Other than Calum, you're the only person I have."

Michael's heart twinged with pain in his chest as Ashton put him in the friend-zone. It hurt to hear those words come out of the boy's mouth, but he knew that that was how it was going to have to be. It was bittersweet because he was still happy that Ashton thought so highly of him even after he had expressed his reciprocated feelings.

"Have you told Calum?" Michael asked quietly. 

Ashton shook his head. "No. You're the only one who knows."

Michael found it odd that he didn't tell Calum about the unfortunate news, but he wasn't going to drill him on the degree of their friendship. It wasn't the time nor the place to do so. Michael shifted uncomfortably in his chair. 

"So, that's why you came to me?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yes. I was having a hard time with it because it's been a job that I've had since I was a teenager and it was my out from going to college and it's been my only source of income. I have no idea what I'm going to do now that I don't have the security. You'll tell me to get a job, but I don't even know where to begin since I've never had to fill out any type of resume or cover letters or anything of that sort. I don't even know what I'm good at. My rent's due in a few days and I just don't know what to do," Ashton rambled, the boy now crying with his face in his hands.

Michael was never the perfect one to deal with emotional things, but he had been with Luke through enough breakups to know how to try and be comforting to someone. He got up from his spot at the table and sat down in the chair next to Ashton, only to slowly rub his back. It's a tactic that always calmed Luke, so he figured that it would be worth trying with Ashton. 

"I am so sorry, Michael. I don't deserve you or your caring...I've treated you like absolute shit," Ashton blubbered. 

"You've just told me how you actually feel about me. You didn't need to let me down easy. I handled it perfectly fine," Michael said, trying to make him feel better even if it made him feel like shit. 

Ashton cried harder and leaned on Michael's chest. Caught off guard, Michael wrapped his arms around the boy and just gave him the love and comfort Ashton was in need of. It wasn't like Ashton had anyone other than Calum, who he didn't think was as affectionate as Michael or a normal best friend was. It felt as though Calum was just a friend that Calum had come across during work and that was the length of it. 

"Ashton, I want you to stay here tonight," Michael whispered into the sobbing man's ear. 

"I don't want to impose or cause any more damage. You have a life and I don't want to interrupt it," Ashton muttered.

"You wouldn't be interrupting it. I don't want you going home this upset," Michael told him. He didn't know Ashton that well, but he didn't want Ashton to go home and do something stupid. He's seen how people get after losing basically everything like Ashton had and he wanted to prevent it happening to Ash if he could.

"Why?" Ashton blubbered. 

"Because...I've seen what people do after something like this happens and I don't want it to happen to you," Michael mumbled.

"Are you implying that I'm going to kill myself?" he asked in disbelief.

"No! I just...people can do some fucked up shit when everything is taken away from them," Michael continued, trying to explain himself, but felt like he was failing at it. 

"I'm not going to do anything," Ashton answered, not sounding at all confident about it. It sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. 

"You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the couch," Michael told him. 

Ashton didn't say anything and just got up to go to the bathroom. Michael sat in the chair, looking at where Ashton had sat down. He felt guilty that he somewhat accused Ashton of thinking about offing himself, but he didn't know. Michael just knew of one too many people that did because of this reason and he didn't want to see it happen to poor Ashton. He was too important to Michael. 

He knew that it was stupid to have Ashton stay with him when the boy was trying to get over him, but the caring gene in the Clifford family made itself prominent and he couldn't help himself. Michael wasn't one to let somebody rot in their sadness, no matter how angry or upset with them he was. It was only in his blood.

Ashton came back from the bathroom, looking like a puppy that had just been kicked. He looked up at Michael, who returned his glance with a half-hearted attempt at a comforting smile. He didn't know what else to do. The situation between the two was awkward as it was and the new situation piled on top of it made it even more worse. 

"Do you mind if I go to bed?" Ashton muttered. 

"No, go ahead. I'll just be out here," Michael said as casually as he could. 

"I can take the couch," he suggested.

Michael shook his head. "No, you can have the bed. I'm fine on the couch. My mum always taught me to make the guests comfortable, so go ahead."

Ashton didn't say anything and shied away into Michael's room. As many times as Michael had fantasized about him and Ashton, he thought he would've been able to help him and be the caring boyfriend - friend in this case - that could take care of anything and everything because he knew exactly what made him feel better or when something was wrong with him. But that was the unfortunate reality bitch slapping Michael in the face. 

As much as he wanted to believe he knew Ashton, Michael didn't know him at all.

\----


	18. Plan of Attack

To say Michael had a rough night with sleep was the biggest understatement of the year. He had barely gotten any sleep because he had been worried about Ashton and tried to think of ways that he could help him. Not only had he rifled his mind for that kind of information, but his demons kept him awake, telling him how he wasn't good enough for someone like Ashton and all of that happy horse shit. 

When the clock struck eight, Michael turned his TV on, figuring that it was an acceptable time of day. He kept the volume less than ten because he wasn't sure if Ashton was a heavy sleeper or not. It was slightly hard to hear, but it was Spongebob reruns that Michael had seen thousands of times before, so he knew the premise as to what was happening. It wasn't long after the third episode that Ashton stumbled out of the bedroom, looking a lot more well rested than Michael did. 

"Morning, Ashton," Michael greeted sweetly, hoping that they overcame the excessive amount of awkwardness that had been looming over them the night before.

"Good morning," he said flatly. 

The boy sounded a bit more happy to be alive than he had the night before but he knew that it wouldn't last long since the realization would hit him that he wasn't allowed to go to work for the day. Michael had tried to wrap his mind around Ashton's job and he wondered how Ashton felt and what he thought while...working. He didn't know if it felt like an old fashioned one night stand or if he felt like it was a job or if he just felt absolute pleasure and pictured someone that he wanted to have sex with. Granted, he wasn't going to ask the boy that since of the recent events that had taken place. He wasn't even sure if he would've asked anyway. It was technically a personal matter. 

Michael didn't know what to do now. He had come up with a plan to get Ashton his job back, but he didn't know how to bring it up or if he should. He didn't want Ashton to think that he had stayed up the entire night thinking about him, despite the fact that he did. The plan he come up with wasn't even that good of one, but he knew that if it worked, Ashton would be the happiest person alive.

"Sleep well?" Michael asked as the shirtless man took a seat on the recliner next to him. 

"I slept fine," Ashton responded. "Spongebob, eh?"

He was trying to sound interested, but Michael knew that the reality was setting into his mind since his tone of voice had completely changed since he had bid him "good morning". Never in the short time of knowing Ashton had Michael heard the boy so sad and hollow. Then again, every time he had seen him, Michael had been a client and Ashton was the pleasing employee. Even then, it seemed as though sad was out of Ashton's vocabulary. The only thing that described him was sunshine and Michael couldn't imagine anything dulling him. Now that he saw it, Michael didn't like it.

"So, I've got an idea to get your job back," Michael blurted out. Ashton's head snapped to him, his pupils slightly widening. 

"What?" he asked in shock.

"I came up with a way for you to get your job at Heaven's Gates back," Michael repeated. 

"How so?" he wondered, now curious.

"They're located in Melbourne, so we could take a day trip down there and visit the headquarters, find your boss, and you demand them to give your job back," Michael suggested.

"It's not that simple, Michael," Ashton responded, causing Michael's excited smile to fall. 

"I know. It's going to take a lot of talking and pleading, but it's worth a try," Michael continued to push.

"No, it's not that, Michael. My boss...she's strict. Once you're fired, you're fired. There's no going back. As much as you want it to work, it's isn't going to," Ashton continued.

Michael wanted to look on the positive side of things, but it was hard to since Ashton was most likely telling the truth. He knew that it wasn't going to be that simple and Ashton knew his boss better than Michael for sure. It was worth a try in Michael's eyes. He wanted to be able to help Ashton and see his smile again. Michael would do anything for that smile to come back on Ashton's face. 

\----

Luke sat down across from Michael after fifteen minutes of waiting, an unamused expression plastered on his face. Michael knew that Luke didn't want anything to do with him because of the argument they had gotten in, but Michael needed help and Luke was the only one that really understood the situation he was in. There was Spencer too, but Michael wasn't that good of friends with him. Spencer was Luke's boyfriend and that was really the extent of his and Michael's relationship.

"Don't look so happy to see me," Michael said once the blonde was seated across from him.

"You can tell? Guess I'm not very good at faking it," Luke snarked. 

Michael rolled his eyes, letting it go. "Thanks for making the valiant effort to meet me. I know that I interrupted your valuable do-nothing time."

"Do you want me to leave?" Luke threatened, scooting his chair back.

"God, you are such a baby," Michael huffed. He knew that he shouldn't have invited Luke for this exact reason. "If you're done acting like a child, I'd like to ask for your help with something."

"If you're done being a dick, I might actually want to help," he sassed. 

Michael bit his tongue, knowing that if he said anything smart-assed, they wouldn't get anywhere if they kept arguing like that. "So, are you going to help me?"

Luke pondered it for a minute before shrugging. "Depends on who it benefits."

"It benefits Ashton," Michael told him. 

"Sure," Luke agreed. "What's wrong with him?" 

Michael explained the situation to him along with the plan that he had thought up that night before. Repeating it all a second time made Michael think that it sounded stupid, but he knew that it was just his inner critic coming out. 

"I'd say that it's worth a shot, but I mean, if Ashton's boss is anything like he says they are, maybe it's a wasted trip," Luke spoke. "You have to make it sound like Ashton is not going to take no for an answer. I mean, I don't know Ashton well, but he seems like he could be a savage beast if needed. He doesn't seem to take shit."

"You've only met him twice and you can tell that?" Michael asked with a bemused look. 

"Michael, we've been friends for how long and you still question my ability to read people. I'm offended," Luke chuckled. 

The two were quiet, each taking a drink of their iced teas. Michael felt like their friendship was back on good terms, but he couldn't tell. He felt like he should apologize for it again since he had only touched on it when he called the day prior to, but then again, maybe Luke wasn't looking for an apology. That was how their friendship worked sometimes; they would get into an argument and then they would act like nothing had ever happened, without any type of apology.

"You really have feelings for this guy, don't you?" Luke blurted suddenly, catching Michael off guard. 

"What?" he choked.

"Ashton. You really do like him?" Luke repeated.

Michael could feel his cheeks heat up because it was true. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

Luke gave him a genuine smile, happy to see his best friend happy. "If he's as good of a guy as you say, then I'm happy for you."

Michael's smile fell. "No need. He has made it clear to me that he doesn't have anything but brotherly feelings for me."

"Well, I wouldn't fuck my brother," Luke snorted. 

"Luke," Michael snapped. 

"What? You can't just fuck someone and then say that you don't like them anymore than a friend. That's just kind of...messed up," Luke explained. "I know, I know. Who am I to say anything? I'm not in his profession."

The two stayed quiet, dropping the subject. Michael knew that Luke wanted to see him with someone, but as Michael learned, it wasn't worth trying so hard. He had only had his heart shoved into a vat of acid and thrown at a wall when he tried, so his new plan was to just give up on love and wait for it to come to him, even though that wasn't likely to happen.

\----

Michael walked back into his apartment, Ashton nowhere to be found. Michael had left him watching Comedy Central on the couch and now the TV was turned off. In a way, Michael mentally cursed himself for just leaving the guy for Luke, but he knew that he had to get it accomplished. 

"Ash?" Michael called throughout the apartment, not being able to help but wonder about what it would be if they were actually living together. "Ash, I'm home."

Before he could make his rounds throughout the small living quarters, Ashton walked out of the kitchen in what looked to be Michael's AC/DC t-shirt. It took everything in him to stop himself from smiling about how adorable the smaller boy looked in Michael's baggy shirt. 

"Did everything go okay?" Ashton asked.

"What are you doing for the next two days?" Michael asked. 

"Well, I was slated to work until...yesterday," Ashton answered, looking at the floor, ashamed. And then he brought his eyes back to Michael. "Why?" 

"Get your shit. We're going to Melbourne."

\----


	19. Adore You

"I'm only going to be gone until tomorrow night," Michael told Luke. 

"And your apartment is loaded with shit," Luke chuckled. "By the time you guys get back, your apartment will smell like a fresh waterfall."

"He's not lying. He just bought this amazing Febreeze and Lysol shit and he cleans our apartment every week and it smells like Heaven," Spencer added in. 

Michael just rolled his eyes as he gave his best friend a hug. "Fine. Just don't lose any of my shit. I know where everything is right now." 

"No promises, Clifford," Luke smirked. 

Michael turned and slammed the trunk of his mum's car shut. It had been forever since he had driven. It wasn't like he forgot. He was just a bit rusty at it. There was no way that he was going to let Ashton in on that information because he would use that as an excuse not to go. The blonde was rapidly typing something on his phone when Michael turned around, figuring that he was just telling Calum where he was headed. 

"Ready to go?" Michael asked once Ashton was finished. 

The boy just gave a nod and made his way over to the passenger seat. Michael waved back at Luke and Spencer before crawling into the driver's side. He was excited to go on a road trip with Ashton. He had only ever been on them with Luke and they had only gone on short trips to Newcastle and the likes. So, going on an eight hour trip with someone that he had developed such deep feelings for was exciting because they actually had the time to properly get to know one another personally instead of...intimately. 

Michael drove away from the curb, watching as Luke and Spencer became smaller in the side mirror. It was overwhelming to think that he was going to be trapped in a vehicle for over eight hours. Michael was never a fan of riding in a car, let alone driving for that long. He got bored easily and needed something to keep him preoccupied and make it actually fun. 

"What kind of music do you want to listen to?" Michael asked when they pulled up to a traffic light. 

"I'm not picky," Ashton answered, looking out the window at the people crossing the street. 

Michael didn't say anything as he grabbed his phone and clicked on his Spotify app. He clicked on a random song by Jimmy Eats World and shoved it back into the console. He felt a bit awkward, not knowing if Ashton could tolerate the band or absolutely hated them. Not only that, but if Ashton was going to continue to mope about Heaven's Gates, Michael was in for a long and agonizing eight and a half hours.

\----

According to Cynthia, Micheal's phone GPS, there was just over three and a half hours left until they arrived in Melbourne. It was almost seven and the sun was starting to set and Michael's anxiety started to set in. Driving at night was his least favorite thing in life because there was so many unknown things that could be wandering around along the side of the road and the last thing that either him or Ashton needed was to be stranded in an accident with a dead thing rotting in front of them. 

Michael looked over, noticing that Ashton was still awake. He didn't think that the boy would be able to stay awake for as long as he had. It was probably just Michael who was lulled to sleep by absolute boredom. 

"Enjoying the ride?" Michael blurted, striking up the first conversation of the entire road trip. 

"Yeah, although, it's really long," he shrugged. "Are you getting sick of driving? At the next stopping point, we could switch."

"O-Oh, are you sure?" Michael asked. 

"Yeah, it's fine. I've been to Melbourne a few times, so I know a generic layout of the land," he smiled, a bit of his happy self coming back through. 

"I suppose so. As long as you're not a reckless driver," Michael chuckled.

"Oh, Michael. You don't know me," Ashton started. "Reckless is my middle name."

The two laughed, the smile on Michael's face caused by how Ashton was starting to come out of his dull state. He had wished that it would've happened a few hours earlier, but he wasn't going to complain. The bright side was that the sad and depressing version of his crush was going away and the new and happy one was coming back. It warmed Michael's cold heart. 

"How have you stayed awake for this long?! I would've been out within fifteen minutes," Michael asked, wanting to keep his and Ashton's conversation going. 

"I can't sleep in a vehicle unless I'm dead tired. There's just something about motion that causes me to be hyper or something," he explained. 

"Valid reason," Michael responded. 

The two were quiet for a good chunk of time, though this time it wasn't as awkward as it had been for a few days prior. It occurred to Michael that Ashton might have gained some hope that his boss would listen to him and give him his job back. He understood that bosses weren't always the most understanding or the nicest people, but it was better to have a positive outlook. Maybe his boss had a soft spot for Ashton. They would be crazy not to because for as little Michael knew of him, Ashton was one of the sweetest beings. If he didn't think so, he wouldn't be taking the time out of his life to go all the way to Melbourne for him. He may have a crush on him, but that was besides the point. Michael would've done it for Luke too.

They come up to a wayside and Michael pulled into it, feeling a load get lifted from his shoulders that he wouldn't have to drive for the rest of the way. Being a passenger was better than being the driver. Michael didn't have a very long attention span, so driving for long periods of time made him feel drained. 

"This doesn't look sketchy at all," Ashton said, looking around at the dark and deserted landscape surrounding them. "A murder or two definitely didn't happen here."

"Eh, it gives the place character," Michael shrugged, getting out of the car. 

The two switched sides and Michael instantly checked his phone, the screen filled with notifications for the first time in a long time. It was mainly just his favorite gamers tweeting, but there was a few texts from his mum and Luke, asking how it was going. Well, Luke was spamming him and telling him how much he missed him. It was kind of adorable and it made Michael smile that his best friend appreciated and loved him like that. 

"Can we listen to my Spotify?" Ashton asked, grabbing his phone from his pocket. 

"As long as you have good taste in music," Michael responded. 

Ashton looked at him, quirking his eyebrow. "Of course I do, you oaf."

The first song to come on was by Foo Fighters, which Michael approved of. Music taste said a lot about a person and sometimes it was a make or break feature in people that Michael fancied. He had to admit that he was scared that the phone was going to blare Hannah Montana or something pop like that. While he had to admit that there were certain "girly" pop songs that he enjoyed listening to, it wasn't his preference for an entire four hours. He needed some diversity in his selection just so he could gain the masculinity he lost for listening to the Best of Both Worlds. 

After about twenty minutes, Michael's eyelids were starting to droop and it was a physical effort to keep them open. In a way, he wanted to curl up and get some shut eye, but when he looked over at Ashton, he wanted to stay awake and just admire him. The only light was from the teal glow of the dashboard, making Ashton look like an aesthetic image on Tumblr. Not only that, but the boy looked absolutely content, something that Michael hadn't ever seen. He wasn't trying to impress anyone and he wasn't fighting any emotions; he was simply sitting behind the wheel, focused on what was in front of him, lost in his own little world. If Michael wasn't so lazy, he would've taken a picture with his phone so he could go back and look at it. 

"You can go to sleep, Mikey," Ashton said in a hushed voice, looking down at the comfortable boy that was slowly blinking up at him. 

"I don't wanna," he mumbled. "So beautiful."

"I think you need to go to sleep," Ashton chuckled. "Close your eyes. I'll be fine. By the time you wake up, we'll be in Melbourne."

\----

Michael awoke to the sound of an ambulance zipping by like it was right next to his ear. When he sat up, he was under the pavilion of a hotel and the bright lights made it seem like it was daylight when it was nearly eleven o'clock at night. Ashton wasn't anywhere to be found, so Michael imagined that he was getting their room. Normally, he would feel bad that Ashton was the one paying for the room, but he was too tired to care. Just as Michael went to close his eyes, the driver door opened and Ashton was speaking.

"I know how much you love sleeping in an uncomfortable passenger seat, but there's a perfectly comfy bed waiting for you upstairs," Ashton announced as he placed his hand on Michael's knee. 

Michael's eyes peeled open and he looked at the somehow wide awake Ashton. "Sorry I made you pay for the room. I'll pay you back in the morning."

"Don't worry about it, Michael. It wasn't that much anyway. Hopefully I won't after to worry much about money," Ashton said under his breath. "Do you want to grab something to eat? We haven't had any dinner."

"Food sounds delicious," Michael replied. 

They drove out of the hotel's lot and started to drive through the city. Michael was still in the same position that he had been sleeping in, looking out of the windshield at the new scenery. He glanced over to Ashton, once again admiring the boy's beauty. As he admired his facial structure, the chords of Miley Cyrus' Adore You ringing throughout the car. 

For the most part, Michael wasn't a fan of her music, but he felt like that song was perfect in that moment. How gorgeous and intricate the boy was. Michael truly did adore him. He just was drawn to him and that's all there was to it. His heart yearned for Ashton and he couldn't stop it. It wasn't like Michael wasn't trying to fight it. The heart wants what the heart wants and apparently Michael's just wanted heartbreak and rejection.

\----


	20. Heaven's Business Office

"Are you ready to go?" Michael called from the bathroom. 

"Almost."

It was nearly seven-thirty in the morning. Michael and Ashton were getting ready to go to the Heaven's Gates headquarters. Michael was anxious for Ashton, but he was confident that Ashton could present a convincing case. He could tell that Ashton was still hesitant about the whole thing and Michael couldn't blame him. Standing up to a boss was touchy. They were in control of your paychecks and had the ability to make your work life miserable. Michael didn't want that for Ash because he didn't deserve it. Ashton was a good employee. He followed all of the rules perfectly and he did his job perfectly. Michael might've been a bit biased, but it was true. 

He walked out of the bathroom to see Ashton standing in the bedroom, straightening his coat. Michael stopped in his tracks, trying to force his mouth not to fall open. It was that moment that Michael knew why Ashton had gotten his job in the first place. When describing him, hot would be a definite understatement.

"Do I look okay?" Ashton asked, looking at Michael with an innocent look on his face.

"Uh, yeah, you look fine," Michael responded, attempting to be casual about it, but he knew that it was obvious he wasn't. 

Ashton smiled, seeing right through Michael. "Thanks. I don't normally wear this leather jacket and I didn't know if it would look right with my hair this way. I feel more like a boy with this hair cut."

"No, you look hot," Michael blurted, feeling his cheeks fade to a dark red. 

Ashton chuckled. "Again, thank you. That's the whole goal. I have to dress to impress, so I'm glad I rendered you nearly speechless." 

Michael awkwardly smiled. "So, uh, do you want to head over there?" 

"I suppose we could," Ashton nodded.

Michael insisted that he drove, despite not knowing where the headquarters even was. He felt like it was a stupid decision since he had never been to Melbourne in his life and had no idea what in hell he was even doing. All Michael wanted to do was be a responsible wanna-be boyfriend to Ashton and get him to the place that he needed to go. 

The drive was a bit chaotic as expected, but it only took about ten minutes to find out where the building was. Luckily, Ashton knew the address and it was on a main road. Not only that, but the golden gates with a swirly "HG" above the door also gave it away. Michael parked in the last parallel space and looked over at Ashton, who's face showed no emotion. 

"We're here," Michael announced, getting the wavy-haired boy's attention.

"That we are. I haven't been here in years..." Ashton trailed as he looked up at the skyscraper. His eyes met Michael's. "How's my hair?" 

"Your hair is fine," Michael chuckled. "Do you know what you have to do?"

"I have to give them a convincing argument as to why they should hire me back, which consists of making the realize that their business is going to crumble without me because I am their best employee," Ashton recited. 

"Are you really?" Michael asked.

"Of course I am," Ashton scoffed. "I'm not being arrogant either. I've been there the longest and I have the highest demand among returning clients."

"Really?" 

"Would you rather fuck me or Calum?" Ashton asked simply.

"You."

Ashton didn't say anymore and got out of the car. Michael followed suit, not knowing if he should follow or let the guy do it himself. He figured since Ashton didn't tell him to stay that he had wanted him to go with. He figured that Ashton would've at least said something. The last thing that Michael wanted to do was jeopardize Ashton's chances. 

The building was very classy. It looked expensive and Michael felt like he didn't belong because of his choice of attire. Ashton didn't seem to notice, but Michael assumed it was because he knew that he fit in. This place was Ashton's domain. Just looking at his demeanor, he looked like he belonged there more than Michael did. Ashton talked to the receptionist, who directed them to the escalators. 

"Can you just walk in like this?" Michael wondered. 

"Not sure, but we're going to," Ashton said as they ascended to the next level of the building. 

Michael didn't say anymore and just followed as Ashton walked towards the glass doors. He was in awe at the overall decor of the place when they entered. It was like Heaven's business office, but with a sexy twist. If you didn't know what Heaven's Gates was when you entered the building, you would think that it's a place promoting Christianity. Michael looked around as Ashton asked the young secretary about the whereabouts of his ex-boss. He was trying to fathom as to why they needed such a large office since they were just a website, but he knew that Google's headquarters was ten times the size. 

"Michael, come on," Ashton commanded, tearing Michael from his trance. 

They were walking down a hallway filled with pictures of what Michael assumed was their most famous escorts that went on to do bigger things. There were women and men throughout, posing as if they were on a magazine cover, which got Michael thinking.

"Does this place have their own magazine?" Michael asked, not that he has ever read those types of magazines. 

"Yeah, it's a knockoff version of Penthouse, but it's still popular. If you get on the cover, you've made it big because Playboy and Penthouse know who you are and they'll want you in their magazines. But as far as escorting goes, if you get recruited by a service when you're on the cover, it'll be big companies like Ashley Madison. Otherwise, adult movie companies will be knocking as well," Ashton explained. "I was actually pretty close to getting there, but I got fired."

Michael just nodded, not knowing how to respond to that. While it was amazing how famous someone could get by just making the cover of a magazine, Michael felt a little weary knowing that Ashley Madison was a website for men to cheat on their significant others. He didn't think cheating was right and he didn't know if he would want Ashton to be involved with that. It wasn't Michael's decision to make, but he didn't want someone that was sweet and gentle to get the reputation of a salaried homewrecker. That wasn't the Ashton that Michael came to know.

They came to a pair of doors with fancy gold handles and a gold plate in the center reading "Lana D. Gates", in which Michael assumed was the person that they came to see. Before Ashton opened the door, he turned to Michael. 

"I want to thank you for bringing me here and pushing me to do this. If it weren't for you, I'd still be moping around at my apartment in Sydney," Ashton thanked. "As much as I would love for you to come in and hear me roar, I think that I better do this part on my own. You can go back to the waiting room and just tell the receptionist that I'm going to the bathroom if she asks."

"Wait, why?" Michael wondered. 

"Because Lana doesn't like walk-ins," Ashton smirked before bringing Michael in for a quick hug. "Thanks again, Mikey." 

Michael just smiled and watched as Ashton entered the mystery room. He was tempted to just stand and wait, but he quickly realized how desperate that would look. The secretary didn't spare him a glance as he walked back into the lobby of the place and he took a seat in the corner, grabbing out his phone to keep him busy. He hoped that Ashton's meeting with this Lana Gates woman would go quickly, but at the same time, he hoped it took a while because that could mean that she was convinced that Ashton was an asset to her business. 

"Are you Denzel Airbourne?" the secretary asked him, interrupting his focus. 

"Oh, no. I'm waiting for a friend. He's going to the restroom," he told her, doing exactly what Ashton told him to do. 

He went back to scrolling through Twitter, but was too preoccupied with the 'what-ifs'. He was torn about Ashton's job. At first, he knew that Ashton loved what he did and knew that he was lost without it, but when he explained what the job was about with the whole Ashley Madison recruitment and the porno industry, it worried Michael. Neither of those options really seemed like Ashton. Even the Penthouse position didn't fit Ash. Even though the guy was brilliant at what he did, Michael felt like Ashton wasn't really fit for that industry. He was too sweet and caring to be involved in such a wicked industry. 

When Michael finally looked up, he noticed that Ashton was walking out of the hallway with a satisfied smirk on his face. Michael figured that the outcome of the visit was good since he didn't look distressed or pissed off, but then again, maybe he was just covering it up until he got back into the car where he could let out his frustrations. 

Michael got up from the chair and silently walked with Ashton the way they had entered. He wanted to ask him about how it went, but at the same time, just wanted to wait until Ashton brought it up. He figured that he would eventually since Michael took the time out of his life to bring him all the way down to Melbourne. 

"Before we start heading back, can we stop and get something to eat?" Ashton asked after the two of them got into the car. 

"Yeah, what do you have in mind?" Michael wondered.

"Hmm...KFC sounds tempting," Ashton suggested. 

Michael began driving through Melbourne, keeping his eyes out for a KFC. Part of him didn't want to go back that day, but knew that he had to and he figured that Ashton was going to have to as well. It was just another eight hour drive that was turning Michael off. Hopefully the fried chicken would give him a little more motivation. 

"So, how did the meeting go?" Michael blurted out. 

"It went really well," Ashton answered. 

"So, you got your job back?" Michael asked with hope.

"My life will be back to normal as soon as we get back to Sydney," Ashton said with a satisfied grin.

"That's great, Ashton," Michael said truly. He meant it, even if he didn't really care for the industry. 

What mattered was that Ashton was going to be happy. It was just in a way that one wouldn't expect.

\----


	21. Epilogue

Michael waited outside of Padre's restaurant for Luke and Spencer. They were supposed to have met him there at least fifteen minutes before and Michael was getting more and more irritated by the moment. He glanced into the restaurant window to see if they had somehow slipped in there without noticing Michael sitting on the bench, but he didn't see them anywhere. The only one that he recognized was the bitchy waitress that they had had the last time they met for lunch there. He hoped to God that she wasn't tending to their table again...he was not in the mood for that bitch. 

Irritated with his friends, he grabbed his phone from his pocket, typing out a quick text to them. Ever since Michael had gotten back from Melbourne three weeks before, he had only talked to Luke two times. He felt kind of bad, but he had been preoccupied working on improving himself. He was in the process of moving into a more uplifting and homier apartment. He dyed his hair black to make a bit of a change from the usual blonde bleach color. Another thing that he had gained was a job at the music store downtown, selling guitars and giving lessons. It was a job that he enjoyed and it paid enough for him to have a few extra luxuries that he hadn't had before. 

He felt more grown up than he had prior to the changes he was making. Another thing he swore off of was the online dating, deleting every single account. His coworker was a genius when it came to technology and he had blocked all of the websites and apps that Michael had used so there wasn't any temptation for him. It was a step to a more mature Michael. Love was something that would find him if it were meant to be. It seemed that the more Michael tried to find it, the more hurt he got. He was done with breaking his own heart. 

Michael glanced up from his phone, looking around the semi-busy streets, hoping to see Luke and Spencer walking towards him, but came up with nothing. What got his attention, however, was his name being called. 

"Michael? Is that you?"

Michael looked over to the person calling for him and saw none other than Ashton Irwin walking towards him. He almost didn't recognize the guy.

"Ashton? I almost didn't recognize you. Get a new hat?" Michael smirked.

"I should be asking you if you got a new head," he joked. "I like the color."

"Oh, thanks. I always forget that I dye it until someone points it out. I've gotten too used to it," Michael chuckled. 

"It looks good on you. You looked good as a blonde, but black definitely fits your personality better," he smiled. "It's been a while."

"Eh, just three weeks," Michael shrugged. The truth was that the three weeks felt like three months. He's been so invested in changing his life that time seemed to tick by slower. "How have you been?"

"Oh, just chillin' and killin'," Ashton laughed. 

"Are you seriously quoting a meme right now?" Michael asked, causing Ashton to wriggle his eyebrows. 

"Do you want to go in and get a drink?" Ashton suggested, gesturing to Padre's.

Michael looked around to make sure that Luke and Spencer weren't anywhere in sight. "Yeah, that would be fine. Luke and Spencer were supposed to meet me here, but they're probably too preoccupied with inhaling each other's dinner from last night to remember."

"That was graphic," Ashton responded, scrunching his face up in disgust. 

The two walked into the restaurant, the bitchy waitress giving Michael one of the most searing glares. The other waiter looked at the two with a smile. 

"Welcome to Padre's. Just two today?" the waiter asked.

"I think we'll see ourselves to the bar. Thank you though," Michael smiled, leading Ashton to the nearly deserted bar.

The two of them sat down and ordered drinks. Michael felt slightly awkward because so much has changed within himself over the short period of time that they had been absent from each other's lives. He didn't know what to say. The last thing he remembers discussing with Ashton was what kind of chicken he wanted from KFC. 

"So, what have you been up to these days other than dunking your hair into a bucket of tar?" Ashton asked after taking a drink of his whiskey and coke. 

"Oh, let's see. I moved apartment buildings, so I don't live in some sketchy spider-infested shit hole," Michael laughed.

"Your apartment wasn't that bad. I thought it was homey," Ashton replied. 

"Eh, I needed a change. My neighbors were always yelling at each other and I got sick of trying to choose sides," Michael joked. "Other than moving, I got a job at a music shop downtown, so if you're ever in the mood to buy a guitar, hit me up."

"I knew that you'd end up doing something relating to music," Ashton chuckled.

Michael took a sip of his beer. "What about you?"

"Oh, you know. The usual shit," Ashton shrugged.

"Still living the dream at Heaven's Gates?" Michael asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Yeah, actually. These past three weeks have been the best in my career there. Well, minus a few exceptions," Ashton smiled. 

Michael mentally told himself that he couldn't be offended by his words. "That's good. I'm glad our road trip was beneficial."

"Yeah, so am I. It paid off more than I thought it would," Ashton nodded. "Calum tells me that you're no longer a member."

"No, I had my neighbor block all dating sites and apps for me. I figured that I only end up getting hurt if I keep trying, so I wanted to let love come to me. Plus, dating sites aren't part of this new Michael," he explained. 

Ashton rose his glass up, looking at Michael. "That's good to hear. I'm glad you're investing in yourself, Michael. You deserve it. To you."

"Thanks, Ash," Michael smiled. "To connecting with old friends." 

The two clinked their glasses together and each took a drink. Michael looked over at Ashton. His romantic feelings towards the boy were still there. He had a feeling that they always would be. Ashton was the first guy that Michael had actually felt a real connection with and the only guy that he had ever really had that strong of feelings for. He can't forget Ashton. The boy was unforgettable with his charisma and charm. 

"You know, I never told you the truth about the conversation I had with Lana," Ashton suddenly said. 

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, quirking his eyebrow. Surely Ashton hadn't been lying to him about working at Heaven's Gates. Ashton wasn't the type of guy to voluntarily lie - at least, from what Michael knew of him.

"I actually never told you the reason I got fired in the first place either," Ashton continued, looking down into his cup of liquor.

"Yes, you did. You flipped out at a client and he reported you to Lana," Michael answered, confused as to what Ashton was trying to talk about.

"You're right, but you don't know the whole truth," Ashton answered. "We were in the middle of, um, a meeting and I was close. When I came, I shouted out something that I shouldn't have."

Michael looked around, still confused as to what he was missing. "Ashton, I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to tell me or why you are."

Ashton's hazel eyes flicked to Michael's green ones. "I called out your name, Michael. I was picturing you above me and when he realized that, he got angry. We got into an argument and that's when he called Lana and told her that I went nuts on him. The funny part was that I didn't feel bad about it. The man was shitty in bed and my mind was trying to make it better than it actually was. I didn't go to Melbourne to get my job back. The reason that I went into Lana's office alone was because I wanted to talk to her about another position."

Michael was lost for words, not knowing how to respond to what Ashton had just told him. "What do you mean? I thought you loved that job."

"I did. That job was amazing. Not only was it good pay, but I got paid for having a good time. Except it all changed. It changed after I met you. After the argument with my last client, I had the internal war within myself about not wanting to fight for my job and wanting to. That night I stayed at your house, I made the decision that I couldn't do that job anymore. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't do it. I was bound to so many rules and it directly affected my personal life. It was time that I moved on from what the teenage me had been enamored with. It was time that I grew up," Ashton explained.

"I don't understand. What changed? You were only bound to a few rules and they weren't that bad," Michael asked.

"I met you," Ashton said simply, catching Michael completely off guard. "I couldn't do it anymore because I knew that my clients weren't you and I didn't like that. I wanted you, Michael. When I ended our deal, it was because I was scared that I was actually falling for you and I didn't want that. I didn't want to be tied down because I never experienced those feelings before. The night I was fired, I was happy. I could finally live a normal life and not be bound down by rules and I would be able to do things that I couldn't before like having a relationship."

"Then why did you tell me that we weren't going to be anymore than friends?" Michael asked immediately when Ashton was done.

"Because I was still in denial and I didn't know what to do. I knew that you felt the same way towards me, but I didn't know if I was ready for it yet. I was still fighting with myself and I didn't want to just make up my mind like that," Ashton told him. 

"So, you quit your job for me and then went to Melbourne to apply for another job and Lana hired you back like it was nothing?" he asked.

"I quit for both of us. I explained to Lana as soon as I stepped foot in her office that I didn't want to be hired back as an escort because I knew that I wouldn't be able to follow the contract guidelines. I also explained to her the real story of the night that I was fired. I told her about you and how you had been the one that helped to push me to apply for the position, despite you not knowing about it. While I didn't want to be an escort, I still wanted to work for Lana. She understood everything and thought that I would be a great asset for the team," Ashton explained. 

"What's the position?" Michael asked. 

"I'm the designated photographer for the Sydney division of models. I don't take pictures for the magazine other than the roster for who their online escorts are. I give the escorts their professional shots to put on their profiles," Ashton told him. "It's actually a better job than being the escort. It's less...taxing."

Michael was in shock. "Wow...that's...wow. That's great. I mean, I'm glad you found something that makes you happier than the escort job."

"Yeah, I am too," Ashton nodded and then let out a chuckle. "You don't need to pretend to forget about what I said about us, Michael. I meant it and I still mean it."

Michael didn't say anything. He didn't know how to respond or whether it was just another road to getting his heart broken. "Okay."

"I suppose, I deserve it. I rejected you endless times, so it's only fair if you do it to me," he continued.

"I'm not rejecting you...I just, I don't know what to do," Michael admitted. "I still feel the same way about you as I had before. I didn't expect that you would ever feel the same about me."

Ashton nodded and finished his drink. "I'm sorry, Michael. I should go."

He began to get up to leave, but Michael was already one step ahead of him by grabbing his arm and pulling him back towards him, their mouths colliding into a deep kiss. Just as both of them had experienced before, the sparks flew around them. Their lips moved together in sync. They kissed like they had been waiting for that exact moment for their entire lives, in which, technically, they had been. Michael broke their connection and looked into Ashton's bewildered eyes, smirking at the smaller man as he spoke:

"You're not going anywhere, princess."

\----


End file.
